A zero-emission hydrogen ship will be developed as part of an agreement between the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the Korea Hydrogen Industry Association (KHIA) and the University of Ulsan, Foundation for Industry Cooperation (UOUFIC).

The vessel will be used to support the country’s tourism industry.

A passenger vessel, the hydrogen ship will seat 40 passengers and will be used by South Korea’s tourism sector. The vessel will be equipped with an electric propulsion that uses a 350-kilowatt (kW) hydrogen fuel cell.

What’s more, the hydrogen-powered vessel will qualify as one of the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects associated with the country’s national hydrogen strategy.

Commenting on the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that KHIA and UOUFIC signed with ABS, Vassilios Kroustallis, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, said that ABS is “proud to explore new technologies and work together on innovative projects with knowledgeable stakeholders such as KHIA and the University of Ulsan.”

“We look forward to supporting this hydrogen vessel project with our deep technical knowledge and regulatory expertise to enhance the safety of the maritime industry and bring about a smooth transition to clean energy,” added Kroustallis.

One of the world’s leading ship classification organizations, committed to setting standards for safety and excellence, ABS has developed and released an extensive set of requirements to guide the industry in the use of hydrogen-powered vessels. Named “ABS Requirements for Hydrogen Fueled Vessels”, the publication that was released in June of this year is a continuation of the organization’s attention to alternative fuels.

These requirements will help to guide a number of projects, including Korea’s 40-seater passenger hydrogen ship.

“KHIA is very happy to commence this agreement with ABS and the University of Ulsan for the development of hydrogen ships in the future,” said Donghui Lee, Chairman KHIA. “We look forward to cooperating with ABS and University of Ulsan in various fields.”

South Korea’s goal is to grow its annual hydrogen market from 130,000 tons to 5.26 million tons per year, according to country’s Moon Jae-in government.

The country’s marine sector has a distinct H2 focus. Earlier in 2023, the nation’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced it had established “tentative standards” for ship H2 equipment to allow actual hydrogen shipbuilding in South Korea.

Ulsan is considered to be the center of the nation’s hydrogen fuel cell vessel industry and was chosen as a demonstration zone for H2 ships in 2019 to have related regulations briefly exempted to check the efficacy of hydrogen ship technology and equipment.

Later, in 2021, a demonstration project was kicked off to build a universal platform for electric and hydrogen-powered vessels by 2025.

by hydrogenfuelnews