The beginning of a partnership between the maritime start-up EDGE Navigation and the shipbuilding company Ulstein Group has recently been announced, aiming to the use of a modular hydrogen fuel cell solution, in collaboration with the technology company ABB and the global provider of innovative clean energy Ballard Power Systems.
EDGE Navigation AS has chosen Ulstein Design & Solutions AS as their partner in developing a container vessel with the patented X-BOW® hull lines for non-fossil propulsion towards achieving zero emissions in maritime transport.
Specifically, the companies will work on the construction of an X-BOW boxship in order to achieve non-fossil propulsion and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through green energy power solutions.
The partners are now evaluating the use of hydrogen to achieve non-fossil propulsion, collaborating with ABB to develop this solution on the basis of fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems.
“Developing a new efficient design for container vessels incorporating the Ulstein X-BOW® will facilitate the transition to green energy propulsion for container ships. At EDGE Navigation we have the ambition to bring economic and scalable non-fossil fuelled container ships to the market by 2025,” stated Jakob Tolstrup-Møller, Managing Director and CEO at EDGE Navigation.
He continued, saying that “the commercial shipping share of global GHG emissions has reached about 3%. Declining cost of renewable energy and technology enables us to develop new efficient designs that will facilitate the energy transition in the maritime industry.”
The global container ship fleet numbers today about 5,350 ships with about 24 million TEU carrying capacity – all with fossil fuel propulsion.
“With the ever-increasing demand for solutions that enable sustainable, responsible shipping, we are confident that hydrogen fuel cells will play an important role in helping the marine industry meet CO2 reduction targets,” commented the Global Product Line Manager for Electric Solutions of ABB Marine & Ports, Jostein Bogen.
