Last month, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd held the official naming and launch at its Kobe Works of the Suiso Frontier — the world’s first liquified hydrogen carrier.

This vessel was developed to provide a means of transporting liquified hydrogen (cooled to –253°C) over long distances by sea.

Kawasaki (www.global.kawasaki.com) plans to install a 1,250m³ vacuum-insulated double-shell tank, currently being manufactured at Harima Works, on the ship.

Once complete, the Suiso Frontier will be used for technology demonstration testing, with the aim of establishing an international hydrogen energy supply chain in which hydrogen produced in Australia will be shipped to Japan.

Hydrogen is gaining popularity as a key next-generation energy source to combat global warming. It does not emit CO₂ or other greenhouse gases during use, and the expected applications include power generation and fuel-cell vehicles.

With the goal of making hydrogen as common a fuel source as petroleum and natural gas, Kawasaki joined with Iwatani Corporation, Shell Japan Ltd and Electric Power Development Co Ltd in 2016 to form the CO₂-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association (HySTRA).

In addition to this latest hydrogen carrier, a hydrogen unloading terminal is being built in Kobe City (Hyogo Prefecture), and a ‘brown coal’ gasification facility is being constructed in Australia.