Scripps Oceanography begins process to select a shipyard for new dual-powered hydrogen fuel cell/diesel electric hybrid research vessel
01 February 2025
UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to select a shipyard to perform the final design and assembly of the university’s new Coastal Class Research Vessel (CCRV), the first that will run primarily on renewable fuels. (Earlier post.)
The vessel will be a dual-powered hydrogen fuel cell/diesel electric hybrid oceanographic research vessel that will be able to conduct 75% of its missions using only liquid hydrogen fuel. When operating on hydrogen, CCRV will have zero emissions and a quiet operating profile, enabling contamination-free sampling and the performance of its underwater acoustic sensors.
CCRV’s power and control systems involve technical innovation that significantly advances the vessel’s capability relative to conventional systems. Our design is mature, and has received approvals from regulators, and we are very excited to select a shipyard so that vessel assembly can begin.
—Scripps Oceanography Associate Director Bruce Appelgate
The American Bureau of Shipping approved the preliminary design of CCRV in June 2024, and Scripps received further approval from the US Coast Guard in November, an indication that the vessel is on track to meet the technical requirements and safety standards with the use of zero-emission hydrogen-powered propulsion at sea.
CCRV will be dedicated to California research missions to observe and measure biological, chemical, geological and physical processes including research to better understand fisheries, harmful algal blooms, severe El Niño storms, atmospheric rivers, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and oxygen depletion zones.
The 163-foot ship will replace Scripps Research Vessel Robert Gordon Sproul, which has served thousands of University of California students in its 43 years of service but is reaching the end of its service life. After delivery and acceptance, CCRV will conduct scientific missions in the eastern Pacific as part of the US Academic Research Fleet, serving hundreds of scientists and students each year and continuing the university’s educational mission to train the next generation of scientists, leaders and policymakers.
Construction of CCRV receives funding from the State of California, the US Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy as a priority project in the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), California’s statewide clean hydrogen hub. Sandia National Laboratories and Glosten led initial feasibility studies that were supported by the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.
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