Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2019)

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MARINE FUEL: THE AGE OF HYDROGEN and propulsor out? t, Servogear, are key gear managing director, Torleif Stokke, Like marine batteries, his high-screw work with any engine supplier, wheth- to the fast ferry, and a hydrogen vessel is con? dent his propellers and shafts propeller blades can mean fuel savings, er it’s battery, hydrogen or diesel,” a concept is the immediate goal. Servo- will give the UWS quieter propulsion. less noise and smaller engines. “We can giddy Stokke says. Supplier to many a

Norwegian and a foreign ferry project; whale-watching boat and ? shing vessel,

Stokke’s propulsor’s have been known to provide the kind of kick that allows vessels once needing 5.7 MW of engine power to run on 3.7 MW.

While that’s “green,” Stokke says a hybrid hydrogen-battery vessel is “greener”, although when it comes to hydrogen-battery hybrids, like the UWS concept, he seems prone to thinking bat- teries won’t be used for high-speed op- erations. While that’s a slight divergence from stated DNV GL hopes that all- electric might be all-you-need, Stokke’s already a zero-emissions star: apart from his 70-percent export-driven propel- ler business, March 2019 also saw the ? rst all-electric ferry service start up in

Haugesund with his quiet-screw blades onboard. There’s also a whale-watching vessel contract, where the motor gives 25 minutes of hybrid battery time and up to 8 kWh of power over 10 hours.

He admits that the UWS idea is the “greenest” yet. He sees many chal- lenges. What type of propeller will the fast commuter have? “That’s our core

IP. What is the propeller tech? It’ll be a pulling propeller, so it will always have optimal conditions,” he says. The main engine will be hydrogen-powered with a controlled pitch to control the load: “We don’t quite know how to do it, but we have to get it slimmed down.” In- terestingly, Haugom says she envisions a smaller hydrogen motor charging the batteries of a much larger electric engine.

Green, greener, greenest

Stokke has at times been concerned with the project’s “greenness”. “As long as the hydrogen is produced from a clean source, then operations are clean. I’m optimistic that they will be.” He says he knows “liquid hydrogen sources (sched- uled) are only from Europe (and) from three sources — fossil fuel, LNG gas and sent here by trucks”. All are keen to solve the hydrogen-supply problem

ASAP. The ferry operator’s contract makes the demand that, “within three years, hydrogen must be green”, as in from local gas-plant hydrogen capture, or ammonia production — not ? ue gas from the Continent.

Maritime CleanTech asserts the sup- ply chain is “on the verge of a hydrogen revolution.” By the end of 2019, Oslo, too, promises a new hydrogen strategy 24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2019

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