Pilot-E has granted just over NOK 28 million in support of a hydrogen-powered farming boat with associated onshore facilities for production and storage of hydrogen.
Through this project, the partners will develop and realize a hydrogen-electric work boat for the aquaculture industry and a complete solution for a flexible supply of green hydrogen as fuel. Involved parties on the sea side are Moen Verft and Moen Marin and, as well as Midtnorsk Havbruk which is the fish farming company that will use the boat. The onshore facility is being realized in a collaboration between H2 Marine and NTE Energi.
“Through this investment, the consortium wants to take an active driving role to make the green shift blue. In collaboration with Pilot-E, we can now take a new and important step towards zero emissions in our important marine and maritime sectors,” says CEO Paul Ingvar Dekkerhus in Moen Verft.
Important pilot project
“We look forward to following this important pilot project. If the pilot is successful, the hydrogen technology can eventually also be transferred to larger well boats and other energy-intensive vessels and operations at sea. With hydrogen in interaction with battery solutions, the entire operation of aquaculture at sea can eventually be done without emissions,” says CEO Nils Kristian Nakstad in Enova.
Enova supports the development, construction and testing of the workboat, while Innovation Norway provides similar support for the onshore plant, where the hydrogen will be produced with renewable energy in an electrolysis plant.
“This is a project collaboration that can contribute to creating major ripple effects. We are in the midst of an energy revolution in transport on land, at sea and in the air. Norway and the Norwegian business community have the opportunity to take an international position as a supplier of energy solutions the world needs. Globally, interest in green solutions such as hydrogen is growing strongly,” says CEO Håkon Haugli of Innovation Norway.
“It is gratifying that the results from conscious strategic research investment in hydrogen are now materializing in good solutions that reduce emissions in the maritime sector and at the same time lay the foundation for green change,” says acting CEO Anne Kjersti Fahlvik in the Research Council.
According to the plan, the vessel will be put into operation around the turn of the year 2023/2024.
The project is the fourth to be granted support as a result of last year’s Pilot E announcement related to the development of new emission-free offshore transport solutions. The call was the fifth in a row, and gave 12 applications from various corporate consortia with a total of 60 partners. The projects cover the entire course from research to full-scale demonstration under real operating conditions.
FACTS ABOUT PILOT-E:
- Pilot-E will develop new, competitive companies in the area of environmentally friendly energy technology.
- Pilot-E coordinates the available financing offers in the policy instruments and entails higher predictability for support, closer follow-up and stronger coordination.
- Pilot-E will reduce uncertainty for companies and give them a better basis for planning – and thus reach the market with new solutions.
- Pilot-E is supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Climate and the Environment, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
- Including this award, 27 projects have been funded since the first call in 2016, involving well over 100 project participants, and which have received a total of around NOK 500 million in grants.
Photo: Moen Marine’s electric boat NABCAT 1375 ELECTRIC is the foundation that is built on with hydrogen-electric propulsion through this project. Illustration image: Moen Marin
Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
