Update: hydrogen-fuelled tugboat planned for Singaporean harbour operations

ST Engineering is spearheading a project to test the viability of hydrogen fuel cells on harbour vessels as part of Singapore’s drive to reduce emissions from service boats.

This Singapore-headquartered group is in the process of acquiring a small newbuild tugboat that can be fitted with a hydrogen fuel-cell package as a trial.

ST Engineering team leader, Junwei Fan, said the trial would include developing a marine-certified hydrogen-fuelled propulsion package, using existing technology proven onshore to drive two electric thrusters.

“We are in the process of acquiring a tugboat and procuring the hydrogen system for testing around Singapore,” Mr Fan told Riviera at the Seawork exhibition in Southampton, UK.

He suggested delivery of the completed vessel could be in 2028 or 2029 ready for testing and sea trials.

ST Engineering has developed its HubGen containerised hydrogen electrolyser package to generate up to 1 MW of power for onshore applications.

"Hydrogen would be produced and supplied from shore-based infrastructure, which could in principle be generated using HubGen or other electrolysers," said an ST Engineering spokesperson."The electrolyser is not intended to be installed on board the tug as it is not marinised and requires significant space.. 

This is not the first hydrogen-fuelled vessel project proposed by ST Engineering.

In April, ST Engineering Marine gained an approval in principle (AiP) from class society RINA to a retrofit project involving 25-m aluminium fast passenger ferry Asean Raider I, to install with a hydrogen fuel-cell system, supported by lithium-ion batteries.

At that time, ST Engineering deputy president for marine, Lim Nian Hua, said the AiP “represents a key feasibility milestone in expanding our retrofitting capabilities, as we explore practical pathways to introduce hydrogen fuel cell technology into maritime operations.”

He added, “it validates the robustness of our retrofit concept and demonstrates our engineering expertise to safely integrating new technologies into existing vessels.”