Despite controversies, ρłɑɴs for a robust global hydrogen industry continue expanding. One of the ships that recently arrived in Oman holds a special meaning, in line with Oman’s ambitious ρłɑɴ of becoming one of the most influential players in the green hydrogen sector.
At the єɴԀ of 2019, we first saw a trailblazing green project called HESC – Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Project. It was centered around theSuiso Frontier,introduced as the world’s first vessel specifically built to transport liquid hydrogen internationally.
Suiso means hydrogen in Japanese, and the impressive ship was built by none other than Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). Officially launched in 2020, it claimed to “push technological frontiers.” Longer than a soccer field (116 meters/380 feet) and boasting nearly the weight of the Eiffel Tower (8,000 GT), the Suiso Frontier was equipped with a 1,250-cubic meter storage tank for liquefied hydrogen (LH2).
This game-changing storage tank was built using the same technology developed for the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center in order to provide ultra-high levels of thermal insulation. The double-shell structure with vacuum insulation between the layers also features high-strength glass-fiber-reinforced plastic.
Thanks to these engineering innovations, the Suiso Frontier can carry large quantities of hydrogen over very long distances, keeping it at an optimal cryogenic temperature.
The shipcompletedits maiden journey at the beginning of 2021. It departed from Japan in December 2021 and arrived in Australia in January 2022. There, it picked up its cargo, comprised of liquid hydrogen obtained from coal in Victoria, and delivered it back to Japan, where it was unloaded in a dedicated landside storage tank. The round-trip was completed in February 2022.
Although it proudly maintained its title as the world’s first maritime delivery of liquefiedhydrogen, the trailblazing journey wasn’t seamless. A fire incidentjeopardizedthe whole thing, highlighting the potential risk associated with this type of cargo. Luckily, the onboard crew managed to fix things and successfully complete the voyage.
This year, the Japanese vessel marked another milestone. This week, it arrived in Oman after departing from Abu Dhabi. The trip is considered an important step in setting up supply chains for an expanded hydrogen market.
Oman isn’t playing small. Itdreamsof becoming the largest exporter of green hydrogen in the Middle East, covering more than 60% of the region’s capacity. These estimations were ɾєⱱєɑłєԀ in a ɾєρօɾτ launched by IEA (the International Energy Agency). This would also make Oman the sixth-largest exporter worldwide, by the єɴԀ of this decade.
The Suiso Frontier has tremєɴԀous potential to shape this new industry, paving the way for similar ships. According to Kawasaki, it can carry 75 tonnes (82 tons) of hydrogen in a single trip, thanks to the cooling technology that effectively reduces the hydrogen’s volume to 1/800.
