DSME seeks services of NASA for liquid hydrogen

South Korean shipbuilding major Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has sought the services of a NASA supplier to fire up its own large liquid hydrogen carrier ambitions.

DSME is partnering with CB&I, a subsidiary of US-based energy engineering company McDermott, to develop the ship type which moves cargoes at super chilled temperatures.

CB&I has a track record of manufacturing the world’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank and supplying it to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Japanese pioneers of the liquefied hydrogen seaborne trades have come up with an enlarged design to propel the nascent shipping segment into the mainstream.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has unveiled a 160,000 cu m liquefied hydrogen carrier design, with a view to getting one built in the second half of this decade. The new design features four 40,000 cu m tanks.

The news follows on from this year’s first commercial trip of the 1,250 cu m Suiso Frontier, Kawasaki Heavy’s – and the world’s – first liquefied hydrogen carrier, which has started hauling cargoes from Victoria in Australia to a specially commissioned hydrogen terminal in Kobe, Japan. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project turns coal and biomass feed stock from Victoria into LH2, chilled to minus 253C and liquified to less than 800 times its gaseous volume.

Other Asian yards and European designers are busy developing their own liquefied hydrogen carrier designs.