The keel-laying ceremony for the hydrogen-powered ship “Neo Orbis” was held at Dutch shipbuilding firm Next Generation Shipyards. The vessel is expected to be in service by 2024.
Measuring around 65 feet in length, the ship resembles sightseeing boats commonly seen in Amsterdam and has been designed specifically to operate in the city’s canals and the seaport area between Amsterdam and Ijmuiden.
Being a modest-sized vessel, the Neo Orbis’ hull construction will be completed by the end of Q2 this year. Afterward, specialized fuel supply equipment to convert solid sodium borohydride into hydrogen gas will be installed.
On the ship, granulated sodium borohydride reacts with water in the presence of a catalyst to produce hydrogen gas, which is then captured and used to power the fuel cells for electrical propulsion. Backup power is provided by two batteries, and a system monitors the steady and adequate supply of hydrogen.
The Port of AMSTERDAM and other project partners claim that this will be the first vessel to use sodium borohydride as fuel. It has a higher energy density than hydrogen, is non-flammable, non-explosive, well-understood, and widely available.
The “Neo Orbis” is part of the H2Ships project, a regional effort to demonstrate the value of hydrogen-powered shipping in northwestern Europe. The ship’s construction is partly funded by a subsidy from H2Ships.
The “Neo Orbis” will be built through a partnership between the Port of AMSTERDAM and Next Generation Shipyard, with the ship’s design by Dutch engineering consultant Wijk Yacht Creations and the hydrogen installation designed by H2 CIF.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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