The Hydrogen Revolution Has Finally Reached the High Seas: Belgian company BeHydro is a joint venture between ABC Engines and CMB.TECH received the world’s first Type Approval Certificate from Lloyd’s Register for a marine engine that runs on 100 percent hydrogen. Until now, most hydrogen marine engines have been dual-fuel, burning a mix of hydrogen and diesel. This engine burns only hydrogen, with no pilot fuel required, according to Interesting Engineering, a trade publication.
Soon, every cargo ship could run on hydrogen because the most important barrier to commercial adoption is the certification process, which has already been passed.
The Engine
The engine is a spark-ignited internal combustion engine, not a hydrogen fuel cell (that makes it different from some of the experimental cars that companies like Honda and Hyundai are developing). In fact, Engineers modified the familiar piston engine rather than abandoning it for fuel cells.
The key specifications for this system include 100 percent hydrogen fuel, spark ignition, and power output ranging from 900 kW to 2,670 kW. For all you Greenies out there, this system has zero CO2 emissions.
This new engine is designed for all manner of marine vessels, not just cargo ships. Tugboats, ferries, offshore vessels, and other medium-sized ships qualify for this type of engine.
Overcoming Decarbonization Complications
For years, the shipping industry has striven to decarbonize for a variety of reasons. But they could not fully decarbonize because the shipping industry requires substantial energy to sustain its essential operations. Until the advent of this technology, electric battery alternatives to traditional petroleum-based fuels simply lacked the energy density for large oceangoing ships.
Over the years, the industry has analyzed the alternatives to oil. They looked at liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, and nuclear power. With the advent of this technology, though, hydrogen is the best alternative. Indeed, as I have argued for years, hydrogen is a superior alternative energy source to any of the better-known alternatives. And this new engine proves that the thesis is correct.
One of the most important advantages of hydrogen energy is that the exhaust is essentially water vapor, with no carbon dioxide produced during combustion. Unlike hydrogen fuel cells, which require expensive stacks and complex electrical systems, this engine keeps much of the conventional diesel engine architecture that ship operators already understand.
Hydrogen K3 Black Panther Photo. Image Credit: Reuben F. Johnson.
That would reduce transition costs, according to Lloyd’s Register.
Challenges Remain
Despite the excitement, though, hydrogen is far from a perfect marine fuel. Hydrogen has very low volumetric energy density. Ship operators generally must either compress hydrogen to extremely high temperatures or liquefy it to around -423 degrees Fahrenheit.
Both options require expensive storage systems.
Hydrogen contains tremendous amounts of energy by weight, but much less by volume than diesel fuel. So, many vessels would need substantially larger fuel tanks, reducing cargo capacity.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle is bunkering. Ports around the world have spent decades building diesel and heavy fuel oil infrastructure. Hydrogen fueling infrastructure barely exists today. Without worldwide refueling capacity, shipping companies cannot easily deploy hydrogen-powered vessels across global routes.
Where Hydrogen Probably Makes Sense First
Rather than replacing every container ship crossing the world’s oceans, hydrogen is likely to succeed first in harbor tugboats and ferries. These vessels operate on relatively predictable routes and can return to the same fueling facilities every day.
Interestingly, BeHydro has already demonstrated this approach with the MV Hydrotug 1, a hydrogen-powered tug operating in Belgium, although that vessel uses a dual-fuel version of the technology.
The Geopolitical Implications
If hydrogen propulsion becomes commercially viable, it could reshape maritime energy. Today, global shipping depends overwhelmingly on petroleum. A mature hydrogen economy would allow countries with abundant nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, or solar power to manufacture hydrogen domestically rather than importing oil.
That has strategic implications, such as reduced dependence on oil-exporting states, greater energy resilience for major maritime powers, and new competition over hydrogen production and export infrastructure.
Countries such as Japan, Belgium, South Korea, and several European states are already investing heavily in hydrogen shipping technologies, while parallel efforts are underway to develop hydrogen-powered two-stroke engines for much larger oceangoing vessels.
What It All Means
The certification for the experimental ship shows that hydrogen internal combustion engines have progressed from laboratory experiments to commercially certifiable products. That does not mean hydrogen will replace diesel across the world’s merchant fleet anytime soon.
Given the massive shortages of diesel fuel due to the ongoing Iran War and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, it is possible that the industry will begin streamlining the development of this new, experimental technology to offset those shortages, which are unlikely to end anytime soon.
Over the next decade, the most likely path is a mixed maritime ecosystem in which hydrogen finds its niche in regional and specialized vessels, while larger oceangoing ships continue experimenting with hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, LNG, and eventually even nuclear-powered engines.
The importance of this announcement is that it demonstrates that hydrogen combustion is now technically and regulatory-wise viable, shifting the discussion from the “Can It Work?” phase to “Where does it make economic sense?”
That one is a major advancement.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor at 19FortyFive.com. He also manages The Weichert Brief on Substack. Weichert also hosts “National Security Talk” on Rumble. He is the author of four bestselling national security books, the most recent of which is A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine (Encounter Books). Follow him via Twitter/X @WeTheBrandon.
