The multidisciplinary partnership, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week, aims to establish a complete hydrogen value chain for Northern Xplorer’s zero-emission cruise ship with fuel cells and electric propulsion and make pollution-free hydrogen available to the marine market at a time of intense need to decrease emissions.

The partners include the zero-emission cruise company Northern Xplorer AS, the infrastructure owner and hydrogen provider Norwegian Hydrogen AS, the manufacturer of high-capacity hydrogen transfer systems HYON AS, the shipbuilder Multi Maritime AS, and the supplier of hydrogen storage systems Hexagon Purus Maritime AS.

According to NX CEO Rolf A. Sandvik, using hydrogen as the energy carrier will allow cruise ships to continue visiting fragile areas such as Norway’s World Heritage fjords, which will be off-limits to ships burning fossil fuels beginning in 2026 due to government legislation. Future regions in Norway and worldwide will probably do the same.

NX and Portuguese shipyard West Sea have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the construction of NX’s first ship, with delivery scheduled for the start of the 2025–2026 cruise season.