e1 Marine, NAVTEK Partner to Develop Hydrogen-Powered Car Carrier Vessel

US-based e1 Marine, and Turkish naval design and engineering firm NAVTEK have signed an agreement to jointly develop hydrogen-powered low-carbon marine vessels and port applications for the European market.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies will initially develop 120-160 meter hydrogen-powered car carrier design, equipped with 8-10MW of propulsion power, with a view to then develop a methanol fuel cell-powered hybrid tugboat design.

H2 View understands, as part of the agreement, NAVTEK will oversee naval architecture and vessel design, as well as supplying electrical propulsion system design, while managing power system and controls integration, and ship assembly and construction.

e1 Marine has said it will supply methanol-to-hydrogen reformers for the vessels, offering best practice solutions on system integration. The reformers are able to generate high-purity hydrogen with zero NOx, SOx, or particulate matter.

“e1 Marine is committed to ensuring that safe, efficient, and affordable hydrogen is available at scale for the shipping industry,” said Robert Schulter, Managing Director at e1 Marine. “Collaboration is a key component in the decarbonisation of the sector, and this partnership with NAVTEK will enable us to combine our expertise and open up opportunities for car carriers and towboats to accelerate the decarbonisation process.”

Earlier this week (November 30) RIX Industries announced it had received an order from Maritime Partners for 10 of the Element 1 licensed methanol-to-hydrogen reformer systems which are set to establish the ‘world’s first’ hydrogen/methanol-powered tugboat.

Ferhat Acuner, General Manager and Board Member at NAVTEK, added, “NAVTEK is spearheading innovation to create the next generation of vessel designs that can seamlessly reduce total emissions. Our agreement with e1 Marine is the latest in a series of collaborations that brings together specialist technologies and expertise to meet the diverse needs of fleets and port operations in their journeys to reach a zero-emissions future.”