The six-part group claimed the project, backed by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Development Organisation (NEDO), has successfully tested an engine using 95% hydrogen and 5% conventional fuel at 100% load.
The group said the engine is an example of a large, low-speed, two-stroke, liquid hydrogen-fuelled engine intended for large merchant ships.
Japan Engine Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Mitsui Drybulk, Onomichi Dockyard, and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai are all involved in the project.
Provided the engine passes operational verification, it is scheduled to be shipped in January 2027 for installation on a 17,500 DWT vessel belonging to MOL, designed and built at Onimichi Dockyard.
The vessel, which was granted an Approval in Principle from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai in 2023, will be integrated with a Kawasaki-developed marine hydrogen fuel system before undergoing three years of demonstration operations from 2028 onwards.
Hydrogen-fuelled engines could offer a potential pathway to decarbonisation for the maritime sector in line with International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandates. However, they remain nascent.
Hydrogen costs, safety concerns, and a lack of global bunkering infrastructure remain key barriers to adoption, as well as efficiency concerns lingering around hydrogen as a fuel.
The IMO’s Net Zero framework plans to impose a carbon levy on ships above 5,000 tonnes from 2028, while regionally, the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation already sets carbon pricing for ships of this size using EU ports.
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