The is the world's first
liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form.
To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33 K. However, for it to be in a fully l ...
carrier ship.
Design and construction
The ''Suiso Frontier'' was built by
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
(or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is ...
, following support by the governments of Japan and Australia. The ship carries liquid hydrogen, the first load of which was extracted from
brown coal
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
in Australia and carried to
Kobe, Japan
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
.
As a prototype, she is planned to lead to a commercial liquid hydrogen sometime in the mid-2020s.
Although the first in service, a liquid hydrogen carrier ship is not a unique design. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering of South Korea and the Wilhelmsen Group of Norway both have designs for a ship of the same type, the latter being a
roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
vessel. A joint design by Canada's
Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for markets such as heavy-duty motive (consisting of bus and tram applications), portable power, material handling as well as engine ...
and Australia's Global Energy Ventures is currently developing a ship where hydrogen is transported in a compressed gas form.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a member of HySTRA and, along with Iwatani,
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
, and
Electric Power Development, plans to promote hydrogen as a fuel source.
The ship carries a double shielded and double insulated 1,250 cubic-meter tank to both hold and maintain hydrogen at a temperature of -253 degrees Celsius.
She is 116 meters long, displaced 8,000 gross tons, molded breadth of 62 feet, molded depth of 35 feet and a molded draft of 15 feet.
[ Its diesel-electric propulsion provides a top speed of 13 knots maintained by a crew of 25.]carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...
that will be created as a byproduct.
Service history
On December 24, 2021, she left Japan for a two week trip to Port of Hastings, Australia,
Gallery
File:SUISO FRONTIER left side view at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard October 18, 2020.jpg, Port side of the Suiso Frontier at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyards on October 18, 2020
File:SUISO FRONTIER left rear view at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard October 18, 2020 01.jpg, Port aft view of the Suiso Frontier at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard on October 18, 2020
References
{{reflist
Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Hydrogen tankers