Global Energy Ventures Ltd (ASX: GEV) has been issued an Approval in Principle by the prestigious American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the company’s C-H2 Ship containment system, based on a cargo capacity of 2,000 tonnes of hydrogen.
Executive Chairman and CEO, Maurice Brand, said the hydrogen containment system (patent pending) is the most critical component of the Company’s C-H2 Ship.
GEV is pleased to report that it has received Approval in Principle from American Bureau of Shipping, a critical milestone in the continued development of the C-H2 Ship,” Mr Brand said.
“This has been the result of significant effort by the company’s management team, lead by Martin Carolan, and GEV’s technical and engineering team in Canada. The team delivered this critical milestone several months ahead of schedule and under budget. The Board is delighted with the outcome.”
Mr Carolan said the approval results from the GEV team’s engineering efforts over the past year and is a major step forward in the overall approval process for the C-H2 supply chain.
“This unique compressed hydrogen containment system provides a low-cost solution for the marine transportation and export of large volumes of hydrogen.
“GEV advises shareholders that ABS undertook extensive Hazard Identification Analysis (HAZID) prior to issuing the Approval in Principle. It is important to note that as a result of the ABS work there were no unresolvable or unmitigable risks identified that would prevent further successful development of the C-H2 Ship. The receipt of AIP and accompanying road map to Full Class Approval has materially de-risked the path forward technically and commercially.
“GEV is now in discussions with parties to evaluate the C-H2 supply chain for future hydrogen export projects, while also identifying suitable sites for the development of its own pilot scale renewable green hydrogen project for a fully integrated green C-H2 supply chain.”
The engineering and design of the C-H2 Ship benefited from the company’s long-standing history and experience in developing shipping solutions through to final construction approval, including GEV’s CNG Optimum ship.
Since hydrogen has significantly different chemical properties to natural gas, a new design approach was required. In early 2020, GEV’s engineering team began the process of developing the optimal ship design to safely carry compressed hydrogen at the lowest unit cost. The result was the design of a C-H2 Ship capable of transporting 2,000 tonnes of compressed hydrogen at 250 bar and at ambient temperature.
In November 2020, GEV submitted this C-H2 Ship design with its twin 1,000 tonne C-H2 tanks to ABS seeking their Approval in Principle in accordance with their New Technologies Qualification program. The prime focus of the approval was the design and safety of the compressed hydrogen containment system.
To achieve AIP, ABS reviewed the engineering documents submitted by GEV that included structural engineering analyses focused on the critical aspects of the design, process simulation (loading and unloading), ship stability analyses, and an overall technical specification of the ship.
In addition to these studies, a HAZID and “What-if” analysis was carried out. The purpose of this analysis was to review the design features in light of all potential operational procedures and hazards as well as accidental situations. The objective was to identify and classify (where possible) all of the risks associated with the ship’s design and operations. It is through this process that any unresolvable issues may be identified that could compromise the overall viability of the ship.
ABS concluded “That there were no unresolvable or unmitigable risks identified during the HAZID that would prevent further successful development of the compressed hydrogen ship design”. On this basis, ABS issued their Approval in Principle. This is a major milestone and allows GEV to proceed with further technical and commercial development.
The positive conclusions of the HAZID and achievement of Approval in Principle provides a solid foundation for progressing the engineering to advance GEV’s hydrogen export opportunities.
GEV’s recent C-H2 Scoping Study concluded that the C-H2 supply chain had minimal technical barriers to achieve commercialisation, with the AIP and Full Class ABS approvals being a key requirement. The receipt of AIP and accompanying road map to Full Class Approval has materially de-risked the path forward.
GEV will now work with ABS to progress the various engineering steps towards Full Class Approval (i.e.approval for construction, similar to that achieved by GEV for its CNG Optimum ship). Further details will be provided over the coming quarters when material milestones are achieved.