Port of Antwerp-Bruges and CMB.TECH announced that the Hydrotug 1, the first hydrogen-powered tugboat, is ready for operation in the Antwerp port area.

The Hydrotug 1 is powered by combustion engines that burn hydrogen in combination with traditional fuel. It is the first vessel that uses the BeHydro V12 dual-fuel medium-speed engines—each providing 2 megawatts—with the latest EU Stage V SCR and particulate filter emissions aftertreatment systems.

BeHydro is a joint venture between CMB.TECH & Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC), a European manufacturer of medium-speed engines with power ranges from 600 kW to 10.5 MW.

With these engines, the vessel uses clean fuels, resulting in an overall reduction of 65% of traditional fuel consumption and associated emissions in the tugboat’s overall cycle. The Hydrotug 1 can store 415kg of compressed hydrogen on deck.

The BeHydro engines can run dual fuel with port injection of the hydrogen and direct injection of the other fuel (Diesel, Marine Diesel Oil (MDO), gasoil (GO), HVO), or solely on hydrogen, using port injection.