Ricardo, a strategic, environmental and engineering consulting company, has invested in the conversion of one of its buildings to facilitate the development of hydrogen testing for large-scale marine engines, expanding its capabilities in the maritime sector.
In January 2021, Ricardo opened a £2.5 million ($3.145 million) hydrogen test facility at its UK headquarters in Shoreham-by-Sea, doubling its capacity to deliver hydrogen testing for global clients, and now, the company has confirmed the investment in the conversion of an existing building on site to facilitate the development of the testing.
Ricardo claimed the clients within the maritime sector will benefit from the new facility, as well as Ricardo’s experience and capabilities in hydrogen testing, adding that the conversion will deliver facilities to support the company’s development of hydrogen and fuel cell services and solutions.
Jason Oms O’Donnell, Managing Director of Automotive and Industrial at Ricardo, noted: “Hydrogen offers a real alternative to supporting decarbonisation in several industries, including maritime, commercial vehicles, off-highway and aerospace where the combination of high value assets, the longevity of fleets and the importance of safe implementation of new technology means that these sectors can be challenging to decarbonise.”
O’Donnell also mentioned Ricardo’s involvement in the Sustainable Hydrogen Powered Shipping (sHYpS) project, stating: “We are leading the specification, design, build and test of a 375kW fuel cell module and the design of a 40-foot containerised multi-MW power plant that combines the outputs of several fuel cell modules. This latest expansion of our capabilities will help us to deliver future projects.”
To remind, at the beginning of 2023, Ricardo revealed the company is working with the sHYpS consortium to design and develop hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technologies to power the next generation of zero-emissions passenger ships. At the time, Ricardo said the project would accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a renewable fuel in the maritime industry.