Which will be the First Hydrogen-Powered Inland Vessel in Rotterdam?

Energy & Emissions

Mar 14

Summary - A curious coincidence In Rotterdam. Two vessels - a newbuild from Lenten Scheepvaart which is yet to be named and ‘the Maas’ - both claim to become ‘the first hydrogen inland vessel’ in Rotterdam. We have translated their claims from two Dutch news outlets and made a comparison between the two. High costs and high gains, these insights might help you on your hydrogen journey. The race is on for the first hydrogen-powered inland vessel in Rotterdam!

Claim 1 - ‘Newbuild Lenten Scheepvaart’

When - within 2 years

Newbuild Costs - €10M

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Harm Lenten is captain of the MS Antonie, a diesel-powered cargo ship between Delfzijl and the Rotterdam Botlek. Within two years’ time he hopes to transport his goods with a brand new ship: the first inland vessel in the world to run on hydrogen. Those involved speak of an important step in making the inland shipping sector more sustainable.

Much work is needed to convert five thousand inland vessels to become emission-free by 2050. Some ships already run on batteries, liquefied natural gas or with cleaner ship engines and / or catalytic converters. Now it is time for a hydrogen-powered vessel.

Costs

"It shows vision and guts that this entrepreneur dares to do this," said director Femke Brenninkmeijer of inland shipping cooperation NPRC on Wednesday afternoon during the presentation in the Cruise terminal. The cooperation supervises the project in which many parties are involved. The 135-meter-long freighter will cost ten million euros: twice as much as a 'normal' ship.

Hydrogen is also three times as expensive as diesel, which means that many other skippers do not take the risk of switching. Harm Lenten dares to undertake the experiment. He believes in hydrogen as a new sustainable fuel. And Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen is making 4 million euros available for the development and construction of the ship.

Thanks to a European subsidy, there will also be a hydrogen filling station in Delfzijl, which other transporters can make use of in the future. "We do not yet know which technology will be decisive in the future, which is why it is so important to test all possibilities," says Van Nieuwenhuizen. "The project will probably also face many teething problems. But by taking on this project, we can continue to experiment and learn for the future."

Claim 2 - the Maas

When - December 2021

Retrofit Costs - Unknown

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Holland Shipyards will equip the inland container ship 'Maas' with hydrogen fuel cell propulsion. The yard does this on behalf of Future Proof Shipping, experts on hydrogen-powered shipping based in Rotterdam. The container ship, 110 meters long and 11.45 meters wide, will be adapted at the Holland Shipyards Group shipyard in Hardinxveld. The ship is expected to run entirely on hydrogen in December 2020. For the 'Maas', a time charter contract was previously concluded with terminal operator BCTN for the maintenance of a scheduled service between Rotterdam and the BCTN terminals in Belgium. The terminal operator wants to be at the forefront of clean and sustainable transport. Greenhouse gasses are reduced by 2000 tons of CO2 annually with this ship.

Modular drive train with battery pack

The engines in the Maas will be replaced by a new modular drive system consisting of electric motors, hydrogen tanks, a PEM fuel cell system (required for the conversion of hydrogen into electricity) and a battery pack. The hydrogen and fuel cell system are installed in the cargo hold, with the hydrogen tanks placed above the fuel cell system in two containers.

The fuel cell system has a capacity of 825 kWh and the lithium-ion battery pack of 504 kWh. According to Fokke van der Veen, director of operations at Future Proof Shipping, the system is "triple redundant", which means that it has been implemented three times to guarantee operational reliability. "In that regard, we took a good look at machinery in the oil and gas industry." The choice of placement in the cargo hold is related to the lack of regulation for hydrogen. Existing regulations do not allow the installation of fuel cells in the engine room. "We now use the propulsion chamber for the large electric motor, the switch boxes and the battery pack."

Costs

The Maas will sail on green hydrogen. Van der Veen makes no statements about the costs. "We have thought about it well. But you cannot put one amount on it. You will have to look at that more holistically.”

The development of the system has been underway for several years in the Felmar consortium (First ELement MARine), in which Nedstack, Marin, Damen Shipyards, Future Proof Shipping, Marine Service Noord and Holland Ship Electric participate. According to Van der Veen, the purchase of the installation is now in the tendering phase and it is not yet clear who will supply the installation. "There are several providers."

Future plans

Over the next five years, Future Proof Shipping wants to convert ten other inland and shortsea vessels for zero-emission transport. Richard Klatten, CEO of Future Proof Shipping, is pleased with the collaboration. "We are excited to work with Holland Shipyards on the adaptation of the 'Maas' so that it can run entirely on hydrogen. This future-proof vessel will truly become a zero-emissions vessel and will pave the way for a green and sustainable inland shipping sector. "

According to director Leendert Hoogendoorn of Holland Shipyards Group, it is logical that the shipping sector is heading towards hydrogen and other sustainable propulsion methods. "The conversion of a ship to a hydrogen propulsion fits perfectly with our ambition to work on greener and more sustainable shipping. Holland Shipyards Group is confident to take the step forward in more complex energy systems with Future Proof Shipping and thus shares the same green ambition. "

Hydrogen, the future of fuels or an expensive pet project?

Let’s put things in perspective. The 135-meter-long freighter ‘Newbuild Lenten Scheepvaart’ will cost ten million euros: twice as much as a 'normal' ship. On top of this, it is stated that hydrogen is up to three times as expensive as diesel. A 4 million euro subsidy is needed to make the entire project (somewhat) economically viable. The Maas has not given away any numbers, but let’s assume for convenience sake the costs are in the same ballpark. What else could we do with this investment?

The battery system installed on the Maas is roughly 500 kWh, which is similar in size as to what is installed on small (and sometimes even large) offshore class vessels. Generalizing grossly, using the rules of thumb from the insights and costs section on batteries from Mr. Sustainability, it can be assumed the costs for this battery system are between €250.000 - €500.000. It could therefore be argued that for the same investment, up to 10 inland vessels could have been made (near) zero emissions by means of batteries. This is however, too gross a comparison. For both batteries and hydrogen, the infrastructure for recharging and bunkering is not taken into account and battery systems require extensive retrofitting on direct-drive vessels (if at all feasible). Besides, the bold move that both the parties above have taken is a learning the industry a lot about hydrogen systems. The motives and actions of Lenten Scheepvaart, Future Proof Shipping and all parties involved are admirable.

Nevertheless this simple exercise should (at least slightly) raise one’s eyebrows when talking hydrogen. Conversely speaking, one could also argue that the additional costs and technical challenges are simply ‘teething issues’ of hydrogen in the energy transition. That could be. Still, if even DNV claims batteries could very soon be coming on the market than can commercially and technically compete with jet fuel for airplanes (!), why are we investing millions (if not billions) into hydrogen? Is hydrogen truly best fit for this purpose?