Ulstein has introduced its second hydrogen hybrid vessel design for the offshore industry. The ULSTEIN J102 zero emission wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), can operate 75% of the time in zero emission mode. Using readily available technology, the additional cost is limited to less than 5% of the total CAPEX.

Most new jack-up designs feature a battery hybrid system in addition to diesel gen sets, with a future option for hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems, Ulstein said. The downside however of a high-power battery energy storage system (BESS) is the heavy weight and cost. That is not beneficial for a WTIV design, where weight savings are essential for minimizing Elevated Weight and optimizing the Variable Deck Load.

Top view ULSTEIN J102 zero-emission turbine installation vessel. The J102 has a kite-shaped hull allowing for large leg spacings. The patented layout reduces weight by 10 to 15% compared to conventional torsion box structures.

We have carefully analyzed the operational cycle of WTIVs and looked at the power demand in the various modes of operations. This analysis showed that around 75% of its time, a WTIV is in jacked-up position performing crane operations. Using a combination of a hydrogen fuel cell system and a relatively small battery energy storage system (BESS) is then sufficient to meet the overall power demand on board and crane peak loads.

—Ko Stroo, Product Manager at Ulstein

The same design philosophy as on our first hydrogen powered SX190 design, resulted in a much more attractive business case when applied to a turbine installation vessel.

—Edwin van Leeuwen, managing director of Ulstein’s Rotterdam design office

The ULSTEIN SX190 Zero Emission DP2 construction support vessel is Ulstein’s first hydrogen-powered offshore vessel, featuring a Nedstack fuel cell power system.

The hydrogen hybrid system of the ULSTEIN J102 design has been developed so that future developments in hydrogen technology can easily be fitted into the vessel without major modifications.

Main features of ULSTEIN’s J102 hydrogen-hybrid zero-emission design are:

• CO₂ reduction per year: 4,000 mt

• Emission reduction per installation cycle: 25%

• H₂ fuel cell system: PEM fuel cell

• H₂ storage system: 7 x 40ft containers compressed H₂

• Battery energy storage

Ulstein participates in the UN Global Compact program supporting the UN Sustainability Development Goals.