Believed to be the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen-powered maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS), developed by ACUA Ocean, a clean maritime startup, has received approval in principle (AiP) from classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) for its hydrogen system, electrical power distribution systems and control engineering.
To develop the automation of the onboard hydrogen systems, ACUA Ocean has been working with Connected Places Catapult Transport Research Innovation Grant (TRIG). The factory acceptance for the prototype system was started on March this year and was funded by Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK as part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The vessel is built by the Portsmouth-based boat building company PDL and electric design and outfitting by electrical contractor Trident Marine Electrical.
The MASS fits within the UK Maritime Strategy, climate change commitment to zero-emission propulsion by 2025 as it is powered by 6,000 litres of liquid hydrogen increasing its power, reliability and endurance.
ACUA Ocean is working with Lloyd’s Register and industry regulators to make the vessel a high level of
redundancy at sea and to design the vessel specifically for operating in open and rough ocean conditions, offering a stable platform to deploy payloads and sensors for a range of ocean monitoring and protection applications.
According to CEO Neil Tinmouth of ACUA the vessel represent the future of the marine industry and offers increased scalability and safety. In his statement he said “Working with Lloyd’s Register and Ad Hoc Marine Designs has helped us ensure that the vessel aligns with regulatory standards and operational requirements. As the adoption of net-zero propulsion systems accelerates, we are looking to market Let’s look at the obvious strategic benefits first.”
ACUA Ocean also revealed a new H-USV design developed by John Kecsmar, naval architect and Swath designer of Ad Hoc Marine Designs.