ShipFC has reached a major milestone, as the Norwegian Maritime Authority confirms the feasibility of the ammonia fuel system design for the Eidesvik-owned platform supply vessel, Viking Energy.
Through the EU-funded ShipFC project, the partners aim to retrofit the platform supply vessel Viking Energy with an ammonia fuel system and a large 2MW solid oxide fuel cell system. This will allow it to sail long distances without emission of greenhouse gases, demonstrating that long-range zero-carbon emission voyages with high power on larger ships are possible.
“The Norwegian Maritime Authority has confidently issued a preliminary assessment to Eidesvik AS for their vessel Viking Energy. This is one of the few vessels that have progressed this far in the approval process with us. The Norwegian Maritime Authority hopes this project marks the beginning of the green transition within the offshore segment”, says Ivar Ingvaldsen of Norwegian Maritime Authority’s Section of New Maritime Technology.
“This is a very important milestone, recognizing the significant work invested in the ShipFC project. It demonstrates that everything we have planned in this pioneering project is feasible from a regulatory perspective”, says Lars Vestbøstad, Technical Development Manager at Eidesvik AS.
The ShipFC project is being run by a consortium of 14 European companies and institutions, coordinated by the Norwegian organization Maritime CleanTech. The project is backed by the EU’s Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020 under its Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
The Consortium members are NCE Maritime CleanTech, Eidesvik, Equinor, Wärtsilä Norway, Alma Clean Power, Fraunhofer IMM, Yara Clean Ammonia, University of Strathclyde, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Persee, North Sea Shipping, Capital-Executive Ship Management Corp, Star Bulk Ship Management and Sustainable Energy Catapult
