An analysis of the energy consumption and type of zero-emission energy carrier to be used has been carried out for all high-speed passenger vessel routes in Norway. For each route the bunkering locations and estimated start-up year with a hydrogen or battery electric solution has been determined.
The main motivation for this study was to provide an overview of the high-speed passenger vessel market and its future demands for hydrogen fuel, in order to be able to plan an overall Norwegian hydrogen infrastructure.
The study shows that there is a large potential for zero-emission vessels using battery and/or hydrogen technology: Out of the 96 routes investigated 51 routes can be hydrogen powered while 30 routes can be battery powered. 15 routes were not considered in the study as these have been/will be discontinued or represent a very low consumption. The conclusion is that most of the fossil fuel consumption may be replaced by zero-emission solutions by 2027. A total yearly energy consumption of 8710 tons of hydrogen, 44 GWh of electricity and 4.1 million litres of diesel is estimated in 2030. This represents a reduction of fossil fuels by 93%, based on an estimated diesel consumption of 56 million litres in 2021.
The report can be downloaded here: https://ife.brage.unit.no/ife-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2653026/IFE-E-2020-003.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y