New Hamburg hybrids will be Hydrogen-ready
Tenders are being invited by Hamburg early this year for a new generation of plug-in hybrid ferries which will be capable of later retrofitting with Hydrogen fuel cells, reports Tom Todd.
The ferries are new Type 2030 ships and once a tender has been accepted, an initial order for three of the new ships will be placed by main Hamburg port ferry and excursion boat operator HADAG. The order will also include at least one option for further newbuilds.
HADAG Board Chairman Tobias Haack told Maritime Journal the new Type 2030 will be about 33.3m loa and 7.2m wide – a bit longer than current HADAG port ferries – and draw 1.8m.
Carrying 250 passengers, the first Type 2030 is for delivery at the end of 2021 or the start of 2022. Within three years the newbuilds will boost the current HADAG fleet of 26 vessels handling nine million passengers a year to at least 30.
A HADAG statement said the new ships, developed jointly with Flensburg-based company NaValue, would initially be operated largely by battery with batteries recharged over night and with design speeds put at 12 knots. But, since battery capacity will not be enough to cover full operation, Diesel generators will serve as range extenders. These will be replaced by hydrogen fuel cells when permits are to hand and “operate completely emission-free from then on”.
The hydrogen fuel system will be retrofitted with hydrogen stored in pressurised gas bottles on pallets and on-board. Empty bottles will be exchanged for full, meaning that no complex ship refueling is needed, HADAG said.
“We are stepping into new territory here”, said Tobias Haack. “To date, there have been no comparable concepts for port ferries either in Germany or indeed Europe. So, we are curious to see just what the tender offers will look like”.
The new Type 2030, says HADAG, is a further development of the Type 2000 ferries first introduced by HADAG in 1997 and the technically more sophisticated Type 2020 which followed from 2017. Both types are 29.5m long and 14 of them are in service.
Local yard Pella Sietas built Type 2020 boats and eyes undoubtedly will now be on that – albeit currently very busy – Russian-owned shipyard in Neuenfeld for the new Type 2030.
