Fuel for thought: Hydrogen (assessment of hydrogen’s role in maritime decarbonisation)

Classification society providing maritime safety, compliance, and technical services; founded in 1760

Hydrogen and clean propulsion systems for maritime applications

Classification society providing maritime safety, compliance, and technical services; founded in 1760

Offshore services, operation of research and offshore support vessels

Maritime hydrogen fuel cell propulsion uses hydrogen stored onboard a vessel to generate electricity via fuel cells, which then power electric motors and onboard systems, enabling low or zero-emission operation. In the Prince Madog retrofit, a gaseous hydrogen storage system, fuel cells, batteries, and ancillary systems were integrated to enable zero-emission vessel operation when running on hydrogen.

ShipRight Risk Based Certification is a Lloyd's Register framework that provides an assurance route for technologies which fall outside traditional prescriptive class rules, focusing on systematic risk assessment and mitigation. It is designed to enable innovative projects such as hydrogen fuel cell retrofits to proceed while maintaining robust safety and risk management standards.

Hydrogen-battery hybrid propulsion combines hydrogen fuel cells with battery energy storage to power vessels, allowing flexible operation between zero-emission hydrogen mode and battery-supported modes. In the TransShip II project on Prince Madog, the goal is to complete a hydrogen-battery retrofit that can demonstrate zero-emission operation and inform adoption on workboats and larger commercial vessels.

Southampton / UK coastal waters

A three-year project to retrofit the UK-flagged research vessel Prince Madog with a hydrogen fuel cell and battery hybrid propulsion system, including gaseous hydrogen storage, fuel cells, and ancillary systems, culminating in Lloyd’s Register certification under the ShipRight Risk Based Certification framework.

A risk-based certification framework used by Lloyd’s Register to provide assurance for novel technologies such as hydrogen fuel cell systems that fall outside traditional prescriptive rules.