Future Proof Shipping’s inland containership kick-starts its conversion

FPS Maas, an inland containership owned by Dutch shipping company Future Proof Shipping, arrived at the Holland Shipyards Group yard in Werkendam on Monday for its conversion.

Namely, over the coming months, the vessel’s diesel combustion engine will be removed, and a hydrogen and fuel cell propulsion system will be installed.

The hydrogen and fuel cell system will be installed in the cargo space of the vessel, with the hydrogen being placed above the fuel cell system in two 40ft containers (approximately 1000kg at 300 bar).

According to Future Proof Shipping, the fuel cell system will be triple redundant with 825 kW capacity (to supply propulsion and auxiliary power) and a 504 kWh lithium-ion battery pack for peak shaving, secondary and bridging power. The system will contain a 750V DC bus bar and an e-motor for propulsion.

Once back in service, FPS Maas will carry on shipping container cargo between Rotterdam and Antwerp and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2000 CO2e tonnes annually.

The project is supported by grant funding from the Interreg North Sea Region Programme (Zero Emission Ports North Sea – ZEM Ports NS), Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Port of Rotterdam and Expertise- en InnovatieCentrum Binnenvaart.

Future Proof Shipping plans to retrofit two more container vessels with zero-emissions hydrogen propulsion system. The two ships, FPS Rijn and FPS Waal, were bought in October 2021.