The Norwegian shipbuilding and maritime technology group Havyard and its partner Norwegian Electric Systems have entered approval phase in a project aimed to enable the use of hydrogen to power large ships, Havyard said in a statement.

The two companies have contracted Linde Engineering, a German company, to supply the tanks and PowerCell Sweden to supply the fuel cells.

“The agreement entails that the Havyard companies, together with PowerCell and Linde, will design a hydrogen solution and take the first step towards certification. This solution will be offered to Havila Kystruten for retrofitting,” Havyard said in a statement.

Havila Kystruten has two 15,800 gross ton ships on order at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey and similar two at the Barreras yard in Spain. They are intened to operate a passenger and freight service along the Norwegian coast between Bergen and Kirkenes.

“This encourages us to have a comprehensive solution in mind from the start. We will deliver a system that is safe, that takes up little space, that is easy to retrofit and, of course, that does the job.

The development of the hydrogen system is part of a PilotE project in which the Havyard companies and the research institutions Sintef and Prototech are working together, Havyard noted.