Suiso Frontier is the world’s first bulk liquefied hydrogen carrier in the world. The word “suiso” implies hydrogen in Japanese. Suiso Frontier is designed and manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and operated by Shell under the CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association (HySTRA) project funded by the Japanese government and various partners.
The vessel can carry up to 1,250 cubic meters of liquefied hydrogen at -253 degrees Celsius in the state-of-the-art storage tank.
The vessel completed its maiden voyage between Australia and Japan in February 2022. After it underwent refitting, the vessel is now in the next phase of the demonstration which aims to assess the performance, reliability, and integrity of the vessel’s system through more load-unload cycles and to gain more operational experience.
Here are several comments on Suiso Frontier and hydrogen as a clean fuel of the future.
During the vessel’s visit to Singapore on September 3-9, 2023, Mr Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said, ” Singapore announced our National Hydrogen Strategy in late 2022. The properties of hydrogen, and its potential to be produced at scale using renewable sources, makes hydrogen a potential fuel to support the energy transition to a low and zero carbon future.”
“MPA is actively studying the use of hydrogen and its carriers as a marine fuel and welcomes the collaboration with industry players such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Shell, as well as our work with our research community such as the A*STAR Institute of High-Performance Computing, to bring the Suiso Frontier to Singapore. This vessel visit has helped to inform the development of safety and operational procedures, and also support further feasibility studies and preparations for the deep-sea transportation and receipt of liquefied alternative fuels.”
Mr. Shigeru Yamamoto, Executive Officer, of Hydrogen Strategy Division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries said, “We strongly believe that an international supply chain of liquefied hydrogen by marine transportation is essential to realize a carbon-neutral world. The world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier, showed the world that cryogenic liquefied hydrogen can be transported by ship. We are confident that liquefied hydrogen will attract even more attention from around the world in the future.”
Mr. Nick Potter, General Manager of Shell Shipping and Maritime for Asia Pacific
and the Middle East, said, “Transportation through deep-sea shipping is one of the
critical steps essential for unlocking the use of hydrogen as a future zero-carbon fuel.
The Suiso Frontier represents a key milestone in demonstrating the technical
feasibility of liquefied hydrogen shipping and Shell’s maritime leadership in this area.
Shell also remains committed to the safe and efficient operations of the vessel.”
This article is adapted from the content published by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
