The clean maritime company, TECO 2030 heads up a consortium with BLOM Maritime and Umoe Mandal to develop a zero emission catamaran with capacity for 200-300 passengers at speeds of over 25 knots.

In the project, it is hoped the Norwegian municipalities of Finnmark, Nordland, Trønldelag, and Vestland will be the proving ground for new technologies including the development, building, and demonstrating of ‘the world’s first’ hydrogen-powered high-speed vessel.

The companies have said the group received NOK 5m ( $505,000m) of funding for the project as it seeks to build its hydrogen fuel cell-powered catamaran.

Tore Enger, Group CEO of TECO 2030, commented, “We are humble and proud to be qualified for developing the high-speed vessel of the future, powered by hydrogen and TECO 2030 fuel cells. This proves our ability to lead advanced vessel developments and design either it is retrofit or new builds through our maritime expertise.”

H2 View understands that Umoe Mandal are set to provide surface effect ships (SES) technology, deployed on its previous vessels with TECO 2030 deploying its fuel cells to the ship.

Tom Harald Svennevig, CEO of Umoe Mandal, said, “Umoe Mandal has over 30 years of experience in delivering  light-weight and energy-efficient vessels, based on the SES (Surface Effect Ship) Technology.

“This includes the world’s fastest combat ship, the Skjold class corvette, and the Wavecraft CTV series for the offshore wind market. We are excited for this opportunity to develop and approve a hydrogen-powered zero-emission version of our vessels.”

TECO 2030 announced last year (2021) it had moved into its new fuel cell gigafactory site in Narvik, Norway, which it said will have capacity to produce 1.2GW of fuel cells every year by 2030.

Read more: TECO 2030 moves into its new fuel cell gigafactory site