Construction starts on India’s 1st indigenous hydrogen-fuelled ship

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India, has started the construction of the country’s first indigenous hydrogen fuel cell vessel.

As informed, the construction began at the company’s yard on 30 March. CSL partnered with Indian multinational corporation which provides embedded software and product engineering services KPTI Technologies and Indian Registry of Shipping (IRS) to carry out the project.

Furthermore, CSL revealed that India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is partially funding the project.

This vessel is expected to propel India to a strong position on the global front as among the first movers in this niche and emerging technology, the Indian shipbuilding company stressed.

Fuel cells operating on hydrogen fuel are an efficient, environmentally friendly, zero-emission, direct current (DC) power source already applied to heavy-duty buses, trucks, and trains, and are now under development for marine applications.

The development of hydrogen-fuelled electric vessels is considered a launch pad for the country to tap the vast opportunities lying in the coastal & inland vessel segment both nationally and internationally.

This project supports the South Asian nation’s ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and is said to be in line with the standards set by the UN maritime agency International Maritime Organization (IMO) that envisages a reduction in the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 and progressively to 70% by 2050.