Krensen, Trident Marine Electrical, and ACUA Ocean, three British maritime businesses, have teamed up to create a liquid hydrogen marine powertrain system that emits no emissions.
The collaboration combines Trident Marines’ competence in electrical engineering and automation, Krensen’s knowledge in electric and hybrid marine propulsion systems, and ACUA Ocean’s hydrogen technology, which is currently the subject of a UK patent application.
The construction and testing of ACUA Ocean’s innovative liquid hydrogen cryogenic tank were completed during the project’s first phase, and the tank has now acquired Lloyd’s Register Certification and is prepared for deployment as a component of the integrated hydrogen powertrain solution.
Before being installed into ACUA Ocean’s hydrogen-powered USV for in-water testing in 2024, the prototype system will go through factory acceptance testing in Lowestoft during the summer of 2023.
The UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2), which was launched in May 2022 and is sponsored by the Department for Transport and delivered in collaboration with Innovate UK, provides financial assistance for the cooperation.
The Department provided almost £14 million to 31 projects as part of the CMDC2 with the support of 121 organizations from throughout the UK in order to deliver feasibility studies and cooperative R&D initiatives in clean maritime solutions.
The UK Government stated earlier this month that it was launching a £60 million government funding initiative to give the green maritime sector additional boost.
The money comes from the government’s third round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC3), which is focused on researching a variety of clean maritime technologies, including hydrogen, ammonia, electric, and wind power. It is a component of the larger UK SHORE (UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions) initiative, worth $206 million, which was unveiled in March 2022.
For the first time, the UK government will provide two years of support for the creation of innovative clean maritime technology.
Successful businesses will be expected to show that their innovations will function in the real world during the two years of financing, advancing them closer to becoming commonplace.
Numerous creative ventures have been launched thanks to government financing, like the most recent one involving the maritime firm Carisbrooke Shipping in the UK and the tech startup Carnot in London. The team is developing a hydrogen auxiliary engine demonstration with zero emissions.
