Global Energy Ventures (GEV) has revealed it wants to start constructing a scaled-down compressed hydrogen carrier in 2023.

The Sydney-listed company said the pilot C-H2 vessel will be operational by the middle of the decade.

The smaller vessel will carry 430 tonnes of the green fuel, against the 2,000 tonnes envisioned by a previous design for which GEV already has class approval in principle from ABS.

The idea is to align the size and timeline with downstream market opportunities for green hydrogen projects under consideration, both in Asia Pacific and Europe.

The smaller carrier will reduce "overall development risk, capital, and construction schedule," the company said.

Concept proven

Martin Carolan, GEV's managing director and chief executive, said the design and development strategy for the 2,000-tonne ship proved that large commercial-scale C-H2 units are possible.

"The 430-tonne ship is an ideal size to meet the needs of the current emerging H2 marine transportation industry and will ensure we establish ourselves in the marine transportation of green hydrogen," he added.

GEV is already looking to ship green hydrogen out of North Australia through its own renewable energy project.

The 430-tonne design can alleviate the additional infrastructure requirements that a liquefaction or ammonia project will require to deliver pure hydrogen gas to the end user, the company believes.

GEV hopes to take advantage of grid injection demand, also known as blending, and that for fuel cells.

The company has appointed Capilano Maritime, C-FER Technologies, Tekkara Project Services and ABS for engineering, design and safety analysis work.

The 430-tonne containment system fits within a handymax-sized vessel specification.

The ship will feature two large circular 12-metre diameter tanks, contained within the hull.

These will store the gas at ambient temperature at an operating pressure of 250 bars.

Cargo as fuel

Propulsion will be electric drive, supported by the rapid advancements in hydrogen-blended generation and hydrogen fuel cells.

GEV intends to fuel the ship with hydrogen from its own storage tanks, providing a zero-carbon shipping solution.

The 2,000-tonne carrier is still targeted for operation in the mid to late 2020s.

Earlier in June, GEV teamed up with German consultancy ILF to identify uses for the compressed hydrogen carrier.

The memorandum of understanding covers the development of green hydrogen projects in Europe and Australia.