Hydrogen compressors for the world’s first container vessel operating on carbon neutral fuel

13 September, 2022

European Energy has been designated by Maersk as a key supplier of e-methanol to ensure their shipping fleet undergoes a green transition away from traditional bunker fuel. European Energy is set to deliver 200,000-300,000 tons of e-methanol to Maersk annually by 2025.

To achieve this, European Energy is developing the world´s first largescale commercial e-methanol production facility. The green hydrogen will be provided by a 50 megawatt electrolyser and it will be compressed by Howden.

Minimal onsite installation required

Howden will supply five compressor packages, which provide the required hydrogen purity, pressure and flow capacity levels on demand. The turnkey packages require minimal onsite installation, and the compressors are easy to maintain throughout their lifecycle. The compact design combines high-level engineering expertise with a minimal footprint, with highly reliable non-lubricated piston compressor technology delivering 1,370 kg/hr of green and pure hydrogen to support a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.

Significant step

Salah Mahdy, global director of renewable hydrogen at Howden, comments: “While renewable energy is becoming more and more common in the heavy transportation industry, this project marks the beginning of CO2- neutral shipping at a large-scale and is a significant step towards ocean vessels and the maritime industry using 100% renewable energy.

“The International Maritime Organisation has targets to cut the global shipping industry’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050, compared to 2008 levels, so renewable energy options like those provided by Howden hydrogen compressors play a vital role in meeting these goals.”

Collaboration

Anders Brendstrup, head of EPC in PtX at European Energy, says: “Collaboration with partners across the industry is necessary for creating a value chain, scaling green fuel production, and planning future total cost of ownership. This also requires cost efficiency, reliability and safety. Using Howden’s compression systems to connect renewable energy production and electrolysis with transmission and distribution is a key step for us.

“We are delighted to have selected the best possible partner based on their longterm experience and outstanding engineering. Howden’s contribution will make our ambition to support zeroemission mobility through an unparalleled technologic approach a safe and realistic goal.”

Howden provides hydrogen compression systems with over 100 years of experience in hydrogen compression solutions. Howden delivers hydrogen compression solutions on a number of projects relative to storage, steel and mobility, and accelerating the adoption of hydrogen globally. Its technology can handle hydrogen across the value chain from production, to storage, distribution and end use such as refuelling stations, Power-to-X applications and heavy industrial purposes.

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