French LNG containment giant GTT and compatriot TotalEnergies, one of the world’s largest LNG players, have teamed up with LMG Marin and Bureau Veritas to develop a 150,000-cbm liquefied hydrogen (LH2) carrier concept.
In that regard, the four firms have signed an agreement for a joint development project (JDP) to develop the carrier fitted with GTT’s membrane-type containment system, according to a statement by GTT.
Leveraging expertise
The JDP partners will leverage their combined expertise and know-how to develop the large-scale LH2 carrier concept that they can implement on an industrial scale for the maritime transport of liquefied hydrogen.
Under the project, TotalEnergies will work on defining the vessel’s specifications including operational profile, while GTT will design the membrane containment system, considering the constraints related to liquefied hydrogen.
Moreover, designer LMG Marin will define the concept design of the LH2 carrier adapted to TotalEnergies’ specifications and taking into account the constraints related to the membrane containment system.
Classification society Bureau Veritas will conduct a risk assessment and review the design in accordance with the latest regulatory requirements and will ensure it meets its rules with the goal to deliver an approval in principle, the statement said.
Decarbonization
The statement said that “low-carbon hydrogen offers a promising solution to decarbonize hard-to-electrify industries as well as heavy-duty terrestrial mobility, long-distance aviation, and maritime shipping.”
Hydrogen is also a solution for large-scale energy storage and could help generate distributable power to complement intermittent solar and wind power sources.
In the future, continents such as Europe or some Asian countries may need to import hydrogen on a large scale to complement domestic production, it said.
The ability to transport by sea very large volumes of hydrogen in liquefied form at -253°C is one of the major technological challenges to be overcome to set up a “reliable, efficient and competitive global carbon-free hydrogen value chain,” the statement said.
This is not the first development for GTT regarding LH2 carriers.
Last year, GTT joined forces with LNG giant Shell to develop a preliminary LH2 carrier design as well as an LH2 cargo containment system for mid-size LH2 carrier.