The "Hydrogen" Ship Horn Sounded... Hydrogen Vessel Sea Trial Off Ulsan Coast

Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho Observes Boarding at Jangsaengpo Small Vessel Wharf on the 28th

Hydrogen refueling station for hydrogen ships.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A hydrogen ship sea trial event was held at 2 p.m. on the 28th at Jangsaengpo Small Ship Pier in Nam-gu, Ulsan.

Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho personally boarded the hydrogen ship and observed the sea trial.

Representatives from HL Biopharma, Vincen, Bumhan Fuel Cell, JNK Heater, Smart Ocean, and Deokyang, along with Ahn Nam-woo, head of Ulsan Small and Medium Venture Business Administration, Kwon Soo-yong, director of Ulsan Technopark, Song Kang-hyun, head researcher at Korean Register, and Choi Sung-won, manager at Korea Gas Safety Corporation, attended the sea trial event.

Mayor Song listened to the demonstration status of the hydrogen ship refueling station and two hydrogen ships, encouraged the officials, then personally boarded the hydrogen ship and participated in the sea trial from Jangsaengpo Small Pier to the coal pier at the boundary of Taehwa River.

Mayor Song said, “In November 2019, when the regulatory free zone designation was confirmed, I said I wanted to ride a hydrogen ship and visit Taehwa River, and finally, that wish has been fulfilled. I hope this demonstration experience will lead to the early introduction of hydrogen excursion ships that our citizens can use, so please focus on technology development.”

The regulatory free zone project, “Development and demonstration of eco-friendly small ships applying hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems,” is a project with a total budget of 9.3 billion KRW, promoting hydrogen ship construction (4.6 billion KRW), installation of ship refueling stations (4.7 billion KRW), and more.

Four companies, including Vincen and HL Biopharma, participated in the hydrogen ships, and four companies, including JNK Heater and Deokyang, participated in the ship refueling stations.

The hydrogen ship is equipped with eight 51ℓ hydrogen storage tanks and can be charged with 8 kg of hydrogen in 40 minutes, enabling operation for 6 hours at 10 knots (18.5 km/h) powered solely by fuel cell electricity. Including battery power, it can operate for 8 hours.

The eco-friendly hydrogen ship can operate in three forms: ▲hydrogen fuel cell ▲electric battery ▲hydrogen fuel cell + electric battery hybrid.

Hydrogen ship.

Vincen’s hydrogen ship, the Hydrogenia, won the ‘Boat of the Year’ grand prize at the Busan International Boat Show in April, the ‘Regulatory Free Zone Challenge’ grand prize from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in September, and the ‘Hydrogen (H2) Innovation Award’ excellence prize at the Hydrogen Mobility Show.

The first hydrogen ship refueling station introduced domestically is installed and operated according to the hydrogen refueling station standards under the ‘High-Pressure Gas Safety Control Act’ and the ‘Additional Safety Standards’ set by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Hydrogen refueling stations using tube trailers for hydrogen transport and storage require a large area and pose risks due to tube trailer movement.

This refueling station was installed to directly supply hydrogen without transportation means by newly laying a 2.4 km hydrogen pipeline from Deokyang to safely and efficiently utilize the pier.

Hydrogen supplied from Deokyang at 20 atmospheres is compressed to 500 atmospheres through a compressor, stored in pressure vessels, and then supplied to the hydrogen ship at 350 atmospheres.

To prepare for any leakage accidents, gas leak detectors, pressure gauges, temperature sensors, and other sensors are installed on-site at the hydrogen ship and refueling station, and abnormal signals can be monitored externally (Ulsan Technopark, Smart Ocean) through a communication network.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.