Tata Steel, Van Dam Shipping partners for developing H2-powered vessel
Tata Steel has announced that it has partnered with Dutch owner Van Dam Shipping to develop a hydrogen-powered vessel and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the shipping of steel coils.
The vessel to be developed and go on a long-term contract with the steel giant will be a short-sea vessel with a loading capacity of around 5,000 tons and will reportedly be the first of this type.
Hydrogen-powered shipping currently consists primarily of inland vessels and small ferries, both hybrid, partially powered by hydrogen, and entirely powered by hydrogen.
Every year, Tata Steel ships 2m tons of steel coils to different countries within Europe. The aim is that from 2024, the hydrogen-powered ship can sail 100 percent CO2 emission-free and save about 3,000 tons of CO2 per year compared to a ship that sails on gas oil and fuel oil.
In August last year, Tata Steel joined forces with Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to develop and deploy an environmentally friendly carrier of raw materials for steel production. In September, the company also became the first steel-producing signatory of the Sea Cargo Charter, a global framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of chartering activities.
Cem Ugur, head of chartering and operations at Tata Steel, explained: "We want to be a sustainable company on all fronts. This not only means that we will be making green steel using hydrogen in the future, but we are also looking at how we can use hydrogen even more. For example, to make our logistics more sustainable. That is why we are also using green ships for the transport of our coils of steel."
Jan van Dam, director of Van Dam Shipping, added: "Our relationship with Tata Steel goes back many years and one of our ships loads steel in IJmuiden every week. This partnership will intensify our relationship and contribute to our energy transition goals as a company and the shipping industry."
