Green light for Green Marine’s hydrogen CTV

A project to retrofit crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for the offshore wind industry with hydrogen power has been given preliminary classification approval.

Led by Orkney-based Green Marine, Project Verdant is aiming to decarbonise the CTVs that ferry personnel to and from offshore wind farms. Phase 1 of the project saw the team design a hydrogen-diesel hybrid vessel capable of operating with zero emissions at low speeds, for example when loitering near the base of a turbine. Findings show the hybrid system could reduce the vessel’s CO2 emissions by up to 30 per cent and NOx emissions by up to 40 per cent. 

The design has now been granted Approval in Principle (AiP) by Italian classification society RINA. The AiP paves the way for subsequent project phases of design, engineering and sea trials.

“With technical feedback supplied by RINA we now have all the necessary input to progress to the detailed design and implementation phase.,” said Jason Schofield, managing director at Green Marine UK.

“Retrofitting CTVs in the manner prescribed by Project Verdant provides a means of significantly de-risking the implementation and testing of hydrogen fuel-cell vessels in the coastal environment. Once the concept has been proven up, there is potential to rapidly replicate.”

According to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC), the offshore support sector will be worth around £26bn by 2050, with an additional 1,200 vessels needed to service the UK industry alone. Approximately 400 CTVs are currently operating in offshore wind farms around the UK and Europe, with this number set to increase to 700 by 2030.

Backed by Innovate UK, Project Verdant has seen Green Marine working with multiple partners, including maritime consultancy Waves Group and EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre), as well as marine fuel cell specialist Energys and consultancy Engineered Marine Systems (EMS). The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a foundation for the development of new-build zero emission CTVs and SOVs (Service Operation Vessels).

“This project marks a step change in the industry’s decarbonisation journey and is necessary if the sector is going to deliver on net zero targets,” said Engineered Marine Systems managing director, Ben Pym.

“The output of this project demonstrates the readiness of hydrogen fuel cell technology for use in CTVs and there is significant opportunity for the industry to take lessons learnt from the design work completed here.”