A long-term agreement has been signed between Future Proof Shipping and Air Liquide for the supply of carbon-free hydrogen for use by the FPS Maas, a container vessel that transports goods between the Netherlands and Belgium.
The hydrogen supplied by Air Liquide will be used in a PEM fuel cell to produce electricity to deliver approximately 825kW for auxiliary power and vessel propulsion. The PEM fuel cell system enables hydrogen to be converted into electricity and the sustainable solution will be installed in the cargo space of FPS Maas.
The hydrogen will be supplied using specially designed multimodal hydrogen storage suited to inland barges, and once homologated, it will enable the FPS Maas to reduce its CO2 emissions by approximately 2,000 tons per year.
“We are excited to develop this innovative solution together with Future Proof Shipping by leveraging our hydrogen expertise to contribute to the decarbonization of the maritime sector,” commented Diederick Luijten, Air Liquide’s vice president of hydrogen energy for Northern Europe and CIS countries. “This project will help lower the environmental footprint of inland transport on waterways, a sector that represents 3.4% of the CO2 emissions in the Netherlands.”
The solution will enable conventional fuels to be substituted for cleaner hydrogen, and as a result the system will help the maritime industry to decarbonize inland waterways.
“Partnering with Air Liquide, a company with hydrogen at its core, solves a giant piece of the zero-emissions logistics puzzle for us,” said Richard Klatten, CEO at Future Proof Shipping. “Our vessels need to be fueled with renewable energy and right now carbon-free hydrogen, supplied by Air Liquide, is the smartest and greenest fuel choice available to us. We are delighted to welcome the Air Liquide team on board this journey to a zero-emissions shipping world.”
