This topic aims to contribute to setting standards for future inherently safer hydrogen bunkering for inland shipping, and for short-distance sea-going maritime applications, including in island contexts. Developing these solutions is of vital importance to facilitating further innovation activity in deploying hydrogen solutions in shipping, as well as in de-risking future investments.
Project results are expected to contribute to, but not limited to, the following expected outcomes:
- Improved understanding of the health and safety requirements for hydrogen bunkering in a range of operational shipping contexts, which will make bunkering more efficient and inherently safer to reduce hazards and consequences of potential incidents, and thus de-risk future developments;
- Closed knowledge gaps on characteristic hazards and associated risks;
- Lessons learned which can inform heavy-duty refuelling development for other sectors, to facilitate further deployment of hydrogen in a wide range of transport and freight sectors;
- Identification of regulatory challenges and barriers, and areas of focus for pre-normative research and regulatory reform, in order to unlock future fuelling of heavy-duty applications;
- Guidelines and/or draft standards for hydrogen bunkering components and systems to increase the coherence of innovation activities and improve uptake throughout Europe and beyond;
- Leveraging the opportunities associated with shipping as an off-take sector in the development of business cases for hydrogen storage and distribution networks.
- Improved understanding of requirements for type approval for both ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship interfaces and control systems to facilitate widespread commercialisation of the solutions;
- Deployment of hydrogen bunkering infrastructure of at least 800 kg H2/day capacity in project locations;
- A boost in the uptake of hydrogen-fuelled vessels, and associated commercialisation benefits for the broader hydrogen economy;
- Training for vessel crew and bunker terminal personnel, which can be replicated.