A U.K. Based consortium has been awarded a $6.46 million government grant to build the world’s first liquid hydrogen-powered autonomous vessel and its allied infrastructure, a press release said. The grant is aimed at helping decarbonize the maritime sector.

 

The Future of the Ocean and Decarbonizing Maritime Transport

“A consortium of companies in the U.K. has bagged a GBP 5.4 million (US$ 6.46) government grant to build the world’s first liquid hydrogen-powered autonomous vessel and its allied infrastructure, a press release said. The grant is aimed at helping decarbonize the maritime sector.

With governments keen on meeting the ‘net-zero’ goals, a flurry of changes is being brought to the transportation industry. In the U.S., a roll-out of the national charger network is being planned, while the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is being encouraged, while the sale of combustion engines is even being banned in some nations.

Amidst all this, the maritime sector, consisting of heavy vessels that travel long distances and account for three percent of global emissions, has been overlooked for want of a reliable solution to address the challenges. The U.K.’s Department of Transport (DOT) has been running the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) to deliver real-world demonstration projects in clean maritime solutions, the press release said.

The Liquid Hydrogen Autonomous Vessel

The autonomous vessel is being developed by London, headquartered in Acua Ocean, which specializes in hydrogen-powered uncrewed surface vessels (H-USV). According to its website, the H-USV has a payload capacity of nearly 4.5 tonnes (4,500 kg) and travels at four knots.

While this might sound slow, the ship’s design ensures that its fuel capacity gives it an endurance of at least 40 days. Using hydrogen as fuel means that emissions can be reduced by 99 percent.

The vessel is entirely autonomous and uses its onboard environmental and commercial sensors to make decisions on the edge and in real-time. Since there is no crew for these vessels and systems are monitored 24/7, turnaround times are minimal after a trip, the website claims.

Leceister-based Unitrove will provide the necessary infrastructure for these vessels to develop a green shipping corridor between Aberdeen in Scotland and Orkney and the Shetland Islands, six miles (~9.6 km) off the Scottish mainland. Other consortium members are the Port of Aberdeen, the University of Southampton, and maritime and zero-emission transportation organizations.

“We are delighted to be part of this transformational project, which is wholly in alignment with our green ambitions and that of the wider project team,” said Marlene Mitchell, Commercial Manager of Port of Aberdeen. “Zero-emission fuels and vessels are an essential element in achieving decarbonization within the maritime sector, and green shipping corridors will play a key element in meeting the sector’s goals.”

The project is scheduled for delivery in the autumn of 2024. However, it will also require other projects to go greener to succeed. Hydrogen production in the U.K. is currently done from natural gas, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide, The Telegraph reported. Efforts are underway to capture the carbon released during the process or by using water as a source instead of natural gas.

What Next? 

An Autonomous, Hydrogen-Powered Maritime Fleet without legacy Systems and a Standardized, Interoperable Cyber Security Layer

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2023/04/12/are-the-high-seas-the-primary-cyberwarfare-theatre/

What are the implications for cybersecurity and the future of cyber warfare contextualized in the link above –  Are the High Seas the Primary Cyberwarfare Theatre? – if the next generation maritime fleet is autonomous, hydrogen-powered – and devoid of any of the legacy IT systems of the antiquated, analog post-WWII fleet, including the nuclear-powered fleet.  What if all the new systems are modular, interoperable, standardized, and deployed with a zero-trust architecture in place that is secure at a level that takes into account all cyber threat vectors?  

Featured Image Source: Acua Ocean

About the OODA Loop Speculative Design Series

Speculative Design: “a design practice that is concerned with future design proposals of a critical nature. The term “speculative design” was popularised by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby as a subsidiary of critical design. The aim is not to present commercially driven design proposals but to design proposals that identify and debate crucial issues that might happen in the future. Speculative design is concerned with future consequences and implications of the relationship between science, technology, and humans. It problematizes this relation by proposing provocative future design scenarios where technology and design implications are accentuated.  These provocative design proposals are meant to trigger the debate about future challenges. Speculative design proposals might seem subversive and irreverent in nature as they are meant to initiate discussions not to be market products.” (1).  For more, see the work of Syd Mead.

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/11/16/speculative-design-welcome-to-kasperskys-earth-2050/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/10/25/speculative-design-relativity-spaces-fully-reusable-3d-printed-rocket/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/10/07/speculative-design-darpas-airborne-optical-energy-relays/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/09/20/speculative-design-u-s-army-experimental-cubesats-miniaturized-satellites/