International Energy Agency – Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA-HIA)

Task 39: Hydrogen in Maritime Transport

As the primary means of transportation, shipping contributes to emissions of CO₂, SO_x and NO_x. Various environmental regulations are imposed on shipping to reduce adverse health and environmental impacts of shipping. In addition, noise may have an effect on ocean life. Healthy oceans are one of the main challenges of the future.

There is a strong focus among policy makers, ship owners and other stakeholders to work towards safer, greener and smarter shipping. The International Energy Agency – Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA-HIA) Task 39, under the direction of Prof. Ingrid Schjølberg at NTNU Oceans, will support this work.

The Overall goal for the task is to provide knowhow on the use of hydrogen and fuel cells in the maritime, evaluate concepts and initiate research and demonstration projects. This will be achieved by creating an exclusive network of suppliers of hydrogen and fuel cells, shipping companies, advisory and assurance and research institutions. The ambition is to contribute to research within the area, be a technology monitor for ongoing activities as well as contributing to a global regulatory framework. 

Timeline

2017–2019

Organisation

IEA-HIA Task 39 consists of four subtasks: (i) Technology Overview, (ii) New Concepts, (iii) Safety and Regulations, and (iv) Demonstration.

Partners:

• NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Director)
• European Commission
• Norwegian Maritime Authority
• International Association of Classification Societies (IACS)
• DNV GL
• LR
• SINTEF Ocean
• Maritime Forening Sogn og Fjordane
• Institute for Energy Technology (IFE)
• University of Southampton
• University of Trieste
• cEnergy
• University of Genoa
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
• Proton Motor
• PowerCell
• ENGIE
• Hyseas Energy
• PersEE
• Technical University of Madrid
• National Institute of Aerospace Technology, Spain (INTA)
• Delft University of Technology
• Royal IHC
• Damen
• Holland Shipyards
• Future Proof Shipping 

Expert Meetings

Two expert meetings are held each year, where actors from academia, research institutes, industry and regulatory bodies gather to discuss advances in use of hydrogen and fuel cells in shipping.

Expert meetings in 2017

• NTNU hosted the first expert meeting on 13–14 February 2017 in Oslo, Norway. 40 participants from 15 countries and 29 institutions joined the meeting.
• TU Delft hosted the second expert meeting on 26–27 September 2017 in Delft, the Netherlands. 42 participants from 11 countries and 31 institutions joined the meeting. During this meeting, white papers and conference papers were planned. The meeting ended with a tour in TU Delft labs.

Expert meetings in 2018

• INTA hosted the third meeting on 12–13 March 2018 in Madrid, Spain, where 48 participants from 10 countries and 31 institutions attended. The meeting involved presentations, discussions, brainstorming on white papers and technical tours. Toyota partially hosted the event.
• University of Trieste, mareFVG, Lloyd's Register, Wärtsilä and ATI hosted the fourth expert meeting on 20–21 September 2018 in Trieste, Italy. The first day was open to public, and the second day was a closed meeting. In total, 68 participants from 12 countries and 42 institutions participated. 

Expert meetings in 2019

• This fifth meeting was in March 18-19, 2019 in Southampton, UK and was the first day was hosted by University of Southampton. The second day was hosted by Lloyd’s Register. A total of 30 participants attended.
• A roundtable was held in Florø, Norway in September 17, 2019 coinciding with dates of the International Conference on Maritime Hydrogen and Marine Energy. There was a total of 9 participants.

Expert meetings in 2020

• A final meeting was scheduled in Brussels for March 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 situation, the conference was postponed. A digital approach was the ultimate solution, taking place online in December 2020.

Contact