Havyard announced that is currently developing a pilot of a hydrogen system that could help large ships sail emission-free over long distances.

The project that Havyard Group is working on – with Havyard Design and Solutions and Norwegian Electric Systems – will become the biggest of its kind for ships.

With the first phase of development complete, the company is now entering into the approval stage for its hydrogen system, together with Linde Engineering as tank supplier and PowerCell Sweden AB as supplier of fuel cells.

Kristian Osnes, project manager at Havyard Group, said in a statement that Linde Engineering was the right partner in the search for solutions that will ensure safe storage and control barriers for cryogenic hydrogen on board ships.

“The regulations for these solutions have not yet been developed, and we are pleased to have Linde on-board when entering the approval process, which we expect to be challenging,” he said.

The fuel cell technology provider, PowerCell, has previously worked with Bosch in the car industry.

Osnes added that fuel cells have similarities with the battery technology and the cooperation will provide maritime solutions to take the goal of zero-emissions one step further.

The project is part of Pilot-E, a Norwegian financing initiative aiming to support the development of environmentally friendly products and services that reduce emissions. Havyard Group is also working together with the research institutions Sintef and Prototech, while the Norwegian Electric Systems will provide expertise in green technology.

“The system we are developing is designed in modules and can be installed both in new builds and retrofitted in existing ships. In this way, we will contribute to the development of large-scale vessels that can sail emission-free over long distances, or to significant emission cuts from vessels that use hybrid propulsion systems,” said Kristian Voksøy Steinsvik, head of research and development at Havyard Group.