According to LR, the parties will collaborate in the fields of floating production and transport of hydrogen and identify regulatory requirements, including safety cases and risk assessments, for the development of an offshore island and supply chain that will provide green power to businesses on the Thames Estuary and River.
The project, along with the businesses it will support, forms part of the private sector-led Thames Estuary Growth Board action plan, which aims to attract investment and development to the Thames Estuary area.
LR said the plans include the development of a wind, wave and solar energy plant located 100 kilometer offshore, adding: “Green H2 generated on the floating island will be converted into its liquid state and transported by ship to a terminal on the Thames Estuary near London. From there, the H2 is transferred to floating barges where it will be converted to electricity and hot water, along with byproducts created through the conversion process such as liquid nitrogen and oxygen. Batteries installed on the barges will store the electricity whilst it travels to its point of use.”
The MoU also includes a formal assessment of technology, including the development of asset designs, qualification of containment systems and floating hydrogen production and floating energy export systems. Furthermore, LR said the MoU will define an assurance program for floating hydrogen production, hydrogen ships, classification and energy export systems.
Mark Tipping, Power to X Director at LR, commented: “This project is an example of how shipping can support governments’ ambitions to decarbonise their supply chains and generate growth for their regional and national economies. This ambitious green hydrogen project, underpinned by the combined expertise of LR, H2 Terminals, HiDROGEN and D3IM, will help create a sustainable logistics network along the River Thames and lay the foundations for industry to develop.”
Gerry Wilkinson, CEO at H2Terminals, stated: “The demand for green hydrogen is projected to increase significantly in the next few years and we applaud the Thames Estuary Growth Board for committing to the alternative fuel to deliver jobs and investment opportunity to the Thames Estuary region. We will be offering thirty-year Power Purchasing Agreements direct to industry and utility companies as well as participating in the trading and capacity markets. The UK government has set an ambitious target for low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and we look forward to working with the Growth Board, London & Partners, Lloyd’s Register, HiDROGEN and D3IM to help realise this ambition.”
To note, when it comes to hydrogen-related activities in 2024, LR awarded consulting company Ricardo with an approval in principle (AiP) for the design of its multi-megawatt containerized fuel cell power plant solution.
This solution has been designed and developed as part of the Sustainable Hydrogen Powered Shipping (sHYpS) project, which includes the specification, design, build and test of a ~500 kW net, 375 kW gross power fuel cell module (RFC500) and the design of a 40-foot containerized multi-megawatt power plant that combines the outputs of several fuel cell modules.
As per Ricardo, the granting of the AiP signals confidence that the technology has the potential to satisfy regulatory requirements and can be used more widely as a solution to support future decarbonization across the maritime industry.
In 2024, LR also granted an AiP to hydrogen transport solutions provider H2SITE for its AMMONIA to H2POWER technology for onboard ammonia cracking. This technology is an onboard containerized solution that is said to produce “fuel-cell-quality” hydrogen using ammonia. The systems are expected to serve a range of vessels, from offshore platforms to tankers and gas carriers.
