Denmark and Norway team up to build world’s largest hydrogen ferry

(EurActiv, 7 Dec 2020) A Danish-Norwegian project aimed at building what will be the world’s largest and most powerful hydrogen-fuelled ferry has applied for EU funding. The plan is to start operating a Copenhagen-Oslo service by 2027.

Several shipping and energy firms have banded together to build a ferry capable of transporting 1,800 passengers between the two Scandinavian capitals. The vessel, which will be named Europa Seaways, will be powered by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells.

The hydrogen will be produced in Denmark using offshore wind power, meaning it will be ‘green hydrogen’ rather than grey or blue, which involves using fossil fuels in the production process.

According to the project’s initial calculations, the ferry would avoid 64,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, the same as taking more than 13,000 passenger cars off the road.

Europa Seaways will also be able to carry vehicles, either 380 cars or 120 trucks, on the roughly 48 hour-long roundtrip. To achieve this feat it will be powered by a 23-megawatt fuel cell, which will dwarf all existing propulsion systems.

External link

EurActiv, 7 Dec 2020: Denmark and Norway team up to build world’s largest hydrogen ferry