Vestas partners with Windcat Workboats for hydrogen CTV

Vestas is starting a pilot program in cooperation with its trusted partner Windcat Workboats to investigate how the first hydrogen-powered crew transfer vessel (CTV) might help cut carbon emissions from its offshore service operations.

The CTV is propelled by a dual-fuel system that can run on hydrogen in addition to marine gas oil. Since hydrogen fuel has no carbon, it indicates the possibility of greatly reducing carbon emissions while keeping power production constant. On July 15, the solution will be put to the test at the Norther Wind Farm as part of a pilot program. The study, which will go through the end of 2022, will provide Vestas with the ability to investigate the most scalable ways to include hydrogen into its operating structure. The trial’s objective is to gather information on the potential applications and operational constraints of hydrogen-powered ships.

“Hard to reduce industries, like shipping, will be the last frontier in our worldwide decarbonization effort. This path requires the advancement of hydrogen technology, which is why Vestas is excited to explore hydrogen’s potential to lower emissions from our service operations. As a result, Vestas is happy to be leading this trial. “A wider deployment of decarbonizing technology can only advance with assistance from industry leaders,” says Christian Venderby, Executive Vice President, Service, at Vestas.

Deploying hydrogen-fueled vessels will be essential for Vestas’ sustainability journey because the carbon emissions related to offshore activities now make up one-third of the company’s scope 1&2 emissions. In comparison to a conventional vessel, the new CTV has the ability to save 158 tonnes of carbon dioxide or around 37% more carbon emissions. These cost savings will be verified throughout the pilot, and if it shows promise in reducing Vestas’ scope 1&2 emissions, it will also be investigated as to how the technology may be scaled up.

The vessel will currently be mostly fueled by grey hydrogen because there isn’t enough green hydrogen to power it in the required quantities. Through the pilot, Vestas hopes to develop a pathway for using green hydrogen in its offshore operations that can be used once the technology reaches the necessary stage of development.

This vessel was created in collaboration with our sister firm CMB.TECH provides the industry with a practical way to cut service vessel emissions dramatically, a solution that is now applicable to all wind farms. We can use hydrogen technology in the market and jump-start further advancement of the technology, legislation, supply chain, etc. by adopting dual-fuel combustion engines. According to Willem van der Wel, Managing Director of Windcat Workboats, “collaborations like this are what is needed to be able to expand this technology further. We applaud Vestas for taking this initial step.

“The operation of a hydrogen-powered CTV in the North Sea will generate the required demand for investments in the hydrogen supply. According to Christophe De Schryver, Executive Manager of Norther Wind Farm, “Norther is honored that Vestas is bootstrapping this value chain by running this CTV at Norther’s offshore wind farm and glad that we are helping to the reduction of emissions in this way.