Maris Fiducia grabs a slice of Enova’s funding to build hydrogen-powered dry bulk ships

Shipping company Maris Fiducia Norway, with maritime technology company HAV Hydrogen and hydrogen producer and distributor Norwegian Hydrogen as subcontractors, has secured NOK 300 million ($38.4 million) funding from Norwegian state-owned Enova to develop, build, and operate five hydrogen-powered dry bulk vessels.

The funding was awarded under Enova’s largest-ever allocation to enhance domestic maritime transport through the so-called “hydrogen in vessels” program which aims to support companies that will use hydrogen as fuels in vessels and back the development of zero-emission vessel technologies.

“We are thrilled that Enova recognised the strong case for the project with this award which is an important milestone for our team in Norway. A little over one year ago we were inspired by a conversation with Jørgen Kopperstad from Norwegian Hydrogen about fuel availability and technical competence in the Norwegian maritime cluster. It has been quite a journey since then, but we are only just starting,” said Markku Vedder, CEO of the Maris Fiducia Group.

To remind, Maris Fiducia Norway, HAV Hydrogen, and Norwegian Hydrogen signed cooperation agreements to develop, build, and operate hydrogen-powered dry bulk vessels in Europe earlier this year.

Maris Fiducia Norway will manage and operate the five vessels that, once built, will go on a zero-emission time charter with Schulte & Bruns.

The 6,000 dwt vessels are designed by the Dutch ship designer Ankerbeer with a hull design optimized for efficiency and low fuel consumption. The power plant will consist of a dual-fuel hydrogen ICE combined with fuel cells for auxiliary power.

The partners also plan to equip the five vessels with a Zero Emission Pod (ZEPOD), a module containing a complete hydrogen energy system for ships, delivered by HAV Hydrogen.

As explained, each ZEPOD is intended to be delivered with a total capacity of 400 kW, which is enough to run all auxiliary systems on board the bulk carriers. The ZEPODs can be upgraded to 1 MW capacity at a later stage.

HAV Hydrogen is currently developing its first full-scale ZEPOD, which will be ready for testing next year. Preliminary delivery schedule shows that the sequence of delivery will commence from the end of 2025, depending on shipyard, the company noted.

Norwegian Hydrogen will provide security of supply for Maris Fiducia and Schulte & Bruns by delivering all the green hydrogen fuel for the five dry bulk carriers.