Norwegian company H2Carrier is designing the P2XFloater™, a hydrogen and ammonia production vessel. Now it is joining the Ocean Hyway Cluster.
The Ocean Hyway Cluster is what it describes as "Norway's largest network for hydrogen-based solutions in the maritime sector." By joining, H2Carrier expects to gain further knowledge of the hydrogen sector, project planning support and networking with potential partners, according to CTO Sebastian Kihle.
Hydrogen production on ships
H2Carrier AS was founded in 2019. The core team had experience from offshore oil and gas production and offshore wind.
The Norwegians are developing the P2XFloater™. It is designed to enable off-grid production of hydrogen and green ammonia followed by transport to the consumer. The concept is based on converting a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) and extending its design by lengthening the hull to maximize production capacity.
Green hydrogen will be produced on board. This will involve pumping seawater on board, purifying it and feeding it to electrolysers. The hydrogen will then be combined with nitrogen extracted from the air and synthesized into green ammonia in a generator. According to H2Carrier, all steps rely on renewable wind, solar or hydro energy, which is delivered to the ship via a high-power cable from a nearby power source.
According to CTO Sebastian Kihle, H2Carrier is currently focusing on project development -planning. Locations are being sought for the P2XFloater™ where renewable energy is available at low cost. He said work is currently underway on more than 10 projects, mainly in Northern Europe and Greenland,
Ammonia project in Greenland.
One project is the development of the first commercial wind farm in Greenland, including the production and export of green ammonia. H2Carrier has signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with Anori A/S, a company based in Greenland.
The wind farm is expected to generate 1.5 GW of renewable energy, which will power H2Carrier's floating production vessel. The finished ammonia will be stored in tanks on board the ship, then transported to smaller vessels and exported for sale on the international market. With this large-scale project, Greenland aims to play a stronger role in the international energy market in the future.
Cooperation with Indian engineering company
The company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Larsen & Toubru (L&T) for topside engineering and construction of the ammonia plant for the P2XFloater™. The plan is to build the hull of the vessel at shipyards in Asia. Meanwhile, L&T is to develop the process and supply modules for the production of hydrogen and ammonia, including the electrolyzers and nitrogen generation plant.
Installation and integration of the topside modules into the hull is possible anywhere, according to the company.
