Austal inks LoI for design of hydrogen-powered catamaran

Australian shipbuilder Austal has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Swedish Rederi AB Gotland to design a high-speed catamaran that will be able to run on hydrogen.

As informed, the partners intend to develop a high-speed catamaran with multi-fuel solutions designed for fossil-free fuels, including hydrogen.

“This is an important step in our climate journey. We are working on developing the ships of the future, and in 2022 presented the second ship concept in our Horizon series, Gotland Horizon X. It is a fast-moving catamaran that will be able to run on fossil-free fuels, and which we believe will be an excellent complement to the Gotland traffic,” Håkan Johansson, CEO of Gotlandsbolaget. said.

“The letter of intent with Gotlandsbolaget confirms that Austal is ready to design and build a 130-metre high-speed catamaran that can be powered by hydrogen, and which will help us on the journey towards zero emissions,” stated Paddy Gregg, CEO of Austal.

“Austal develops hulls that are optimized for different types of fuel and propulsion, including hydrogen and electricity.”

Gotland Horizon X will be 130 meters long and will be able to travel at 35 knots. The vessel will be able to carry 1,650 passengers and have space for 450 passenger cars. It is planned to be used in Gotland traffic.

2021 saw the launch of our first hydrogen-powered concept ship within the Horizon series: Gotland Horizon. This is Sweden’s first large-scale hydrogen-powered transport of passenger, according to the company. The aim is to have the ship in service by 2030.