Norwegian government enterprise Enova has awarded approximately NOK 763 million ($75.5 million) to projects developing hydrogen- and ammonia-powered vessels in the latest round of investments in emission-free shipping.
As revealed, four companies intending to construct hydrogen-powered ships will receive a total of $50.5 million while the remaining amount of $25 million is reserved for the construction of two ammonia-powered ships.
Namely, the winning companies in this round of investments are LH2 Shipping, Møre Sjø, and Amon Maritime.
LH2 Shipping will receive around $23.5 million for the construction of two bulk carriers powered by liquid hydrogen to operate in the shortsea segment. Having developed the ship concept, the company plans to use Enova backing to ramp up liquid hydrogen-powered systems and and expand into new ship segments where fuel cells and batteries work together in hybrid systems.
Neary $27 million was awarded to shipping company Møre Sjø which recently ordered two emission-free hydrogen-powered bulk carriers at Gelibolu Shipyard in Türkiye.
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The newbuilds, which will have a length of 85 meters and a deadweight of 4,000 tons, were designed by Naval Dynamics while German technology company e-Cap Marine was selected to provide onboard hydrogen solutions. The ships are slated for delivery in 2027.
Finally, Amon Maritime secured the $25 million investment grant from Enova to support the construction of its two newbuilds – Amon Bulk 1 and Amon Bulk 2 – which are said to be among the world’s first large bulk carriers powered by ammonia.
The vessels will represent different segments and sizes, with Amon Bulk 1 being a Capesize and Amon Bulk 2 a Kamsarmax bulk carrier.
Amon’s newbuilds are scheduled for delivery by 2029.
CEO and owner of LH2 Shipping, Ivan Oestvik , commented on the investment: “We see that fuel cells and batteries are working very well together in hybrid systems where different routes and ship types provides different system combinations. Some routes can be operated 100% on batteries whereas fuel cells and LH₂ are added where range and charging issues are dominant.”
Nils Kristian Nakstad , Managing Director of Enova, remarked: “The technology is still new. Now we will support the industry in building experience. If we are going to succeed in cutting emissions from ocean transportation, we need to go for solutions that can grow in scale towards 2050.”
The enterprise added that a new support scheme for ammonia bunkering facilities will be now launched, with an aim to establish the first infrastructure for ammonia as a fuel along the Norwegian coast.