MOL joins Woodside, HD KSOE, and Hyundai Glovis to study liquid hydrogen transport

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has teamed up with Australian energy major Woodside and South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and Hyundai Glovis to study the development of shipping solutions for bulk marine transportation of liquid hydrogen.

Woodside, HD KSOE, and Hyundai Glovis have been pursuing this project since 2022 and now MOL has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly study the technology, safety, construction, operation, and economics of a carrier with 80,000 cubic meter tank capacity.

The aim is to establish a liquefied hydrogen supply chain in Asia and other regions.

If a project results from the MoU, the parties aspire to have the vessel built and in operation by 2030. Under its concept design, the liquefied hydrogen carrier would use hydrogen as its main fuel, which is anticipated to reduce CO2 emissions during operation significantly.

Discussions between the parties contemplate that, if a project results from the MoU, Woodside would be responsible for producing hydrogen and storing it at loading and discharging ports, and HD KSOE would design and build the vessel.

Hyundai Glovis and MOL would be responsible for providing ship operational input into the vessel design, including logistics, propulsion, storage, and cargo handling.

In 2023, DNV issued an approval in principle (AiP) to HD KSOE and its subsidiaries HD Hyundai Heavy Industry (HD HHI) and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for their hydrogen system for liquefied hydrogen carrier.

The system utilizes boil-off gas from hydrogen transport for a hybrid propulsion system, integrating hydrogen DF engines and fuel cells.