RINA grants approval in principle to Green Marine UK’s retrofitted crew transfer vessel initiative

RINA has granted approval in principle (AiP) to Green Marine UK’s maritime initiative aiming to retrofit crew transfer vessels (CTVs) with hydrogen, fuel cells and batteries to cut emissions while servicing offshore wind farms.

Hydrogen fuel cells in the maritime industry

Phase 1 of the project, named Project Verdant, involved a preliminary design and feasibility study. This phase has now been completed and deemed viable, opening the door to subsequent phases including design, engineering and sea trials.

Led by Green Marine UK, the Innovate UK-funded project includes maritime consultancy Waves Group and European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

Project Verdant’s conceptual design incorporates hydrogen fuel cells connected to electric motors, working in conjunction with existing diesel-fueled engines, which can be shut down to enable zero-emission operation at slow speed while servicing offshore wind farms.

Marine fuel cell generator company Energys helped design and provide engineering and modeling. Engineered Marine Systems supplied a design for the battery room, drawn from its extensive experience involving multiple hybrid CTVs. The companies’ findings show the hybrid system could reduce each vessel’s CO₂ emissions by up to 30% and NO_X emissions by up to 40% – with CTVs commonly operating in loiter mode for long periods at a time.

Jason Schofield, managing director of Green Marine UK, said obtaining AiP was a key objective for Project Verdant, providing confidence in the CTVs’ ability to operate safely in UK waters under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency regulations MGN 664 and RINA Rules Pt C, Ch 1, Appendix 14 Hydrogen Fuelled Ships.

Green Marine UK hopes to capture sufficient learning from the operation of a retrofitted vessel to enable it to expand its fleet with new-build zero-emission CTVs and service operation vessels.

Approval in principle for hydrogen-fueled CTVs

“Following the review of a comprehensive package of design documentation and drawings, Project Verdant’s technical solution has been officially approved in principle by RINA,” Schofield said. “With technical feedback supplied by RINA we now have all the necessary input to progress to the detailed design and implementation phase. Retrofitting CTVs in the manner prescribed by Project Verdant provides a means of significantly de-risking the implementation and testing of hydrogen fuel cell vessels in the coastal environment. Once the concept has been proven, there is potential to rapidly replicate. This would enable economies of scale to be leveraged and remove barriers to adoption.”

David Lynch, wind and marine offshore business development director of RINA UK, said, “The AiP of the hydrogen-fueled CTV is a milestone in the wind industry assuring greener service maintenance.”

Patrizio Di Francesco, special projects manager of RINA North Europe, emphasized, “The AiP framework performs an important function ensuring robust analysis of innovative and novel concepts which are not currently covered by traditional classification rules, providing a level of safety in line with current marine industry practice and applicable regulations.”

Jeremy Panes, engineering director of Waves Group, commented, “The system is designed to enhance vessel redundancy and flexibility by utilizing locations where hydrogen is, or will be, readily available. This approach creates a testbed to advance maritime decarbonization in a challenging sector without significantly impacting the vessel’s operational profile. This initiative demonstrates that a new standard for environmental responsibility in offshore services is achievable from both a technical and commercial perspective.”

Ben Pym, managing director of Engineered Marine Systems, said, “This project marks a step change in the industry’s decarbonization journey and is necessary if the sector is going to deliver on net zero targets. The output of this project demonstrates the readiness of hydrogen fuel cell technology for use in CTVs and there is significant opportunity for the industry to take lessons learned from the design work completed here.”

Energys vice president and founder Dr Noel Dunlop added, “Energys is thrilled to play a critical role in this market-leading marine project,” he said. “The marine hydrogen industry is expanding rapidly, particularly in Europe, and the selection process for projects like this is highly competitive. I am extremely proud that the Energys team was able to provide the type of lead-edge expertise in design, engineering and modeling that made it possible to chart a smooth course to RINA AiP. It’s a strong endorsement of Energys’ leading position in marine hydrogen fuel cell solutions.”

Project Verdant has further benefited from economic modeling and insights on hydrogen refueling, logistics and safety from EMEC. An early mover in hydrogen, EMEC operates a hydrogen R&D ecosystem in Orkney, demonstrating assets across the full value chain from production and storage to transportation and end use. EMEC’s R&D activity has explored the application of hydrogen in the aviation and maritime space, as well as synthetic fuel production.

In related news, RINA and Lloyd’s Register have created the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization, a group of companies with a common interest in developing nuclear energy solutions for the maritime sector. Click here to read the full story.