Austal Australasia to design and build a hydrogen powered high-speed ferry

The high-speed ROPAX catamaran, which is a part of Gotlandsbolaget’s “Horizon X” program, will be the biggest ship Austal has ever built. It will use a special, extremely effective combined cycle propulsion system that combines gas and steam engines, which is a first for high-speed ships globally.

Using “green aluminum,” which is made using energy-efficient processes and technologies that use less carbon, the “Horizon X” multi-fuel catamaran will be designed by Austal and built at the Austal Philippines shipyard starting in the first half of CY2026. It will have the capacity to carry up to 1,500 passengers, cargo, and 400 vehicles. Midway through 2028, construction is expected to be finished.

In April 2023, Austal and Gotlandsbolaget first revealed plans to construct a 130-meter multi-fuel high-speed vehicle passenger ferry design that would be able to run on a range of fuels, including hydrogen.

Since then, Austal and Gotland Tech Development, a division of Gotlandsbolaget, have worked with international technology suppliers to determine system configurations and choose preferable primary equipment. The creation of a novel propulsion system configuration that recycles engine exhaust to aid in vessel propulsion and lower emissions is one example of this.

The project was approved in principle by the world’s premier independent Nautical Classification Society, DNV, in October 2024. The design of the vessel was verified to be in compliance with the International Code of Safety of Ships Using Gases or Other Low Flashpoint Fuels and regulations pertaining to gas-fueled ship installations.