The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Torghatten Nord have agreed to build Norway’s first full-scale hydrogen ferry, which will save 13,000 diesel-fueled cars per year in CO2 emissions.
From 2025, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration will operate hydrogen ferries between Bod and Lofoten under a contract with Torghatten Nord. The contract is worth 4.9 billion NOK. The new ferries are scheduled to begin service on October 1, 2025.
The ferry connecting Hjelmeland and Nesvik in Rogaland [on Norway’s west coast] is the world’s first hydrogen ferry, and it will be operational in 2022.
Torghatten Nord will construct two new hydrogen vessels until the contract takes effect on October 1, 2025. The existing main vessels, which were delivered in 2012, will be re-built to run on low-emission solutions rather than LNG.
The pioneering work now underway to develop and operate hydrogen ferries, according to Torghatten Nord, will have ramifications for the Norwegian hydrogen industry, the maritime sector, and the Lofoten islands as a tourist destination.
