We recently posted about plans to build an emission-free bulk carrier powered by compressed hydrogen and rotors sails to be in service by 20204. The European Flagships Project has announced plans to begin operations of a hydrogen-powered cargo vessel on the River Seine in Paris by the end of 2021.

The hydrogen-powered cargo vessel will be owned by French inland shipowner Compagnie Fluvial de Transport (CFT), a subsidiary of the Sogestran Group. The company is currently developing a new business for urban distribution with transport vessels in the Paris area.

The new vessel will use a Zulu class river vessel, developed by Blue Line Logistics, a subsidiary of Sogestran Group. One Zulu vessel has also been put into operation in Paris, and an additional two Zulu ships are currently under construction for the same market. The Flagships project will install a hydrogen power generation system on one of the new builds, scheduled for delivery in September 2021 with the goal of having the ship operating on hydrogen before the end of 2021. The new vessel will be put into service moving goods on pallets and in containers along the River Seine.

The vessel will operate on compressed hydrogen produced from electrolysis, enabling not only zero-emission operations, but also providing expertise for more local zero-emission transport, both at sea and on land. The power generation system for Zulu will be supplied by ABB Marine & Ports, with fuel cells from Ballard. LMG Marin is responsible for detailed design drawings, with hydrogen provided by suppliers in the Paris region.

The Flagships consortium includes 11 European partners, with two shipowners, Norled (NO) and CFT (FR) assisted by its support company Sogestion (FR) and Sogestran (FR); the maritime OEM and integrator companies ABB Marine & Ports (FI) and Westcon Power & Automation (NO); and ship design company LMG Marin (NO & FR). World-leading fuel cell technology is provided by Ballard Europe (DK), with vessel energy monitoring and management by Pers-EE (FR). Management and dissemination activities are provided by VTT (FI) and NCE Maritime CleanTech (NO), respectively.