Norwegian companies establish Green Arctic HyHub

Hydrogen

Norway – Gen2 Energy, HYON, and ASCO Norge have applied for soft funding from Enova to build the Green Artic HyHub, a hydrogen hub for maritime transport in Nordland.

The hydrogen hub will include large-scale compressed hydrogen production in Mosjen and maritime bunkering sites in Sandnessjen and Mosjen.

According to Norway’s Green Shipping ambition, emissions in the maritime sector must be halved by 2030 and zero by 2050. Two challenges must be overcome in order to achieve this: the production of low-carbon fuels at competitive prices and the development of efficient bunkering solutions.

To address these issues, Gen2 Energy, HYON, and ASCO are collaborating on a project to produce cost-competitive compressed green hydrogen on a large scale and make it available in Nordland to fuel a variety of vessels. A bunkering network will be established between Mosjen and Sandnessjen ports to provide cost-competitive hydrogen to maritime customers or to swap containers onboard vessels.

Because of its strategic location, the number of port calls per year by a variety of vessel types, and the available maritime transportation infrastructure, Sandnessjen is an ideal location for establishing a maritime hydrogen hub.

Maritime usage

G2E will build a compressed hydrogen production plant at the industrial site of Nesbruket in the municipality of Vefsn to produce 15,250 metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year (mt/y) and develop 20/40 foot containers that can hold hydrogen at 350 bars specifically designed for fueling or swapping purposes in the maritime sector, in collaboration with suppliers.

Because the fuel tanks are large and the allowed time for bunkering is short, fast fueling is critical for maritime applications. HYON will develop a fueling solution for large vessels that will allow them to refill fuel tanks with 1000 kg hydrogen in 30 minutes, which is much faster than current onshore solutions.
ASCO will lead the development of processes and infrastructure for safe container storage and swapping, including cranes, quays, and warehouses.

Eight signed Letters of Intent from maritime users demonstrate a strong desire to use the green hydrogen fueling stations once they are operational. In addition, several Letters of Intent for onshore applications have been signed with various local and regional transportation and industry companies.

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