Next year the world“ s first hydrogen cargo vessel will traffic the river Seine. During HyVolution 2021, the event attendees in the French capital got to take a closer look at the groundbreaking vessel – soon bound for Paris.
Flagships were represented at HyVolution 2021, which took place in Paris at the end of October. Over 200 exhibitors were gathered for one of the biggest hydrogen events for energy, industry and mobility. During the whole event, the audience flowed to the exhibition in Porte de la Villette.
– It was nice to finally get a chance to show and tell people about the Flagships project. Industry representatives visiting our stand were curious on the hydrogen solutions planned for the Zulu barge vessel, says Newbuilding Project Manager at Sogestran, Victor Laravoire.
Together with Naval Engineer Mathieu Longueville, also from Sogestran, and Marius Knutsen, Communications Advisor at Maritime CleanTech, Laravoire acted as the face of the project during HyVolution.
The Zulu barge vessel is currently under construction at the ATG shipyard in Romania. Early next year, it will set sails to France and get a hydrogen power system installed in Le Havre, at Sogestran’s headquarters. The zero-emission barge vessel is set to operate a route between Gennevilliers and Bonneuil Sur Marne on the River Seine before next summer.
– When people realized this project is well underway and soon on the river, they were truly impressed. This is not a PowerPoint project; we are building this vessel now. This also shows that collaboration is key when developing new technologies, says Longueville.
The Flagships project is an EU- funded project with 11 partners from all over Europe. Several of the proud project partners also got the chance to meet and greet both the audience and fellow project partners during HyVolution; Sogestran, Maritime CleanTech, ABB, Ballard Power Systems and Persee.
Pieces in the zero-emission puzzle
The Zulu vessel will operate on compressed hydrogen produced from electrolysis, enabling not only zero-emission operations, but also creating a solid base for more local zero-emission transport, both at sea and on land. The power generation system for Zulu will be supplied by ABB Marine & Ports, with fuel cells from Ballard. LMG Marin is responsible for detail design drawings, with hydrogen provided by suppliers in the Paris region.
About the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) is a Public Private Partnership in which the European industry, research, academia (represented by Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research) and the EU (represented by the European Commission) work together to accelerate the deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. The FCH JU supports a wide range of projects, which help to put the EU at the forefront of research and innovation, bring the benefits of the technology to the citizens and enhance industry competitiveness.
The Flagships project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under Grant Agreement No 826215. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
