Louis Dreyfus Armateurs plans to develop LH2-fueled SOV

Image: LDA

As well as providing the fleet that ships aircraft components for Airbus, France’s Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is also active in offshore wind support. Today it revealed, that, in collaboration with Norway’s Salt Ship Design, it has been developing a liquid hydrogen (LH2) fueled SOV (service operation vessel) concept.

LDA and Salt Ship Design teams have been working on the fully LH2 fueled SOV concept with key stakeholders including main equipment suppliers, class and flag authorities, and fuel providers.

The industry milestone is in line with the European Commission’s H2-revolution ambitions.

The LH2-fueled SOV, currently in the concept design phase, will be able to operate 95% of the time with zero carbon emission, with vessel releasing only water during standard operations. This would have a major impact on offshore windfarm operation related emissions, by preventing the release of about 4,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The vessel will have a best-in-class CSOV operability footprint, carrying up to 90 technicians onboard and with a 14-day endurance at sea without requiring any the support of anu additional offshore facility or heavy port infrastructure.

“At LDA, our constant ambition is to lead the maritime industry through its energy transition, providing innovative maritime solutions to our customers,” says the company. “We believe that H2 as fuel is one of the key enablers for reducing the impact of shipping industry in the coming years and helping reach the challenging carbon emission targets of the whole industry.”