Hanwha Ocean obtains AIP for liquefied hydrogen carrier

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. said on Thursday that it obtained approval in principle (AIP) for an 80,000 cubic meter-class electric-propulsion liquefied hydrogen carrier from the Norwegian classification society DNV at GASTECH 2024, the world's largest gas exhibition held in Houston, the US.

Liquefied hydrogen has a volume reduced to 1/800th of its gaseous form and increases transportation efficiency more than tenfold.

This makes it advantageous for storage and transport. As maritime transport of liquefied hydrogen is expected to increase, the need for large liquefied hydrogen carriers is also growing.

The liquefied hydrogen carrier that received the latest certification produces electricity using boil-off gas (BOG) from the cargo tanks as a zero-carbon power source, emitting no carbon dioxide.

To develop this technology, Hanwha Ocean entered into a tripartite agreement with US-based CB&I and DNV to research verifying the conceptual design, basic performance, structural safety, cargo handling system (CHS), and the eco-friendly electric propulsion system using hydrogen fuel cells for liquefied hydrogen carriers.

Write to Woo-Sub Kim at duter@hankyung.com