Unmanned hydrogen-fuelled survey ships are to be launched on the River Thames

SEA-KIT International received funding from the Zero Emissions Ships and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition to design and build a hydrogen-fueled unmanned surface Vessel (USV). As part of the project, the company will partner with offshore decarbonisation disruptor Marine2o to build onshore hydrogenation infrastructure to produce green hydrogen through the electrolysis of renewable energy sources and water.

The project, called ZEPHR - Zero Emission Port Hydroprospecting Vessel, aims to expand green ship operations for port operators and stakeholders through complete energy transfer, from easily accessible green electricity to 100% green hydrogen production, compression, storage and distribution.

Engineering design and sustainability specialist Marine Zero will support the design and integration of Marine2o's regulatory compliance and distribution facilities. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is its partner and will host the hydrogen refuelling station on the Thames in London and operate the ZEPHR USV.

John Dillon-Leach, Port hydrographer at the Port of London Authority, said:

"Our support for this exciting project underlines our commitment to creating a net-zero future on the Thames."

"The adoption of innovative and new fuel technologies on the ZEPHR will allow us to be more sustainable and efficient in delivering essential hydrological data and services to all seafarers on the Thames."

"The five-year project will also support environmental monitoring, academic and industry research projects, and support the Offshore Hydrogen Road project - all key elements of Thames Vision 2050, supporting the Port of London Authority, our partners and stakeholders in achieving their sustainability goals."

The Thames is the UK's busiest inland waterway, carrying more than 5 million tonnes of goods and materials each year, as well as millions of passengers. As such, the Thames Estuary is ideally suited to support the development of the hydrogen ecosystem, with significant potential use across a number of sectors, including ports, maritime and inland waterway transport, airports and aviation, construction, distribution and logistics.

As the manager of the UK's largest port, the Port of London Authority (PLA) has set ambitious emissions reduction targets and is actively taking a range of actions to meet these targets, including implementing new technologies. The ZEPHR USV, with its zero-emission operational capability, will support the PLA in achieving its goals.

SEA-KIT's remotely operated USVs, many of which operate in offshore projects around the world, improve safety with onshore staff in remote operations centers. Its smaller size also allows for significant cost savings compared to larger conventional survey vessels.

The configurable ZEPHR USV platform will have a high-resolution multi-beam echo sounder as its primary payload, capable of mounting additional sensors such as lidar, cameras, environmental monitoring and sampling equipment. The ship will also be able to launch and recover aerial drones for surveying, surveillance, search and rescue. The ZEPHR will use two hydrogen fuel cell systems as redundancy.

The ship's design will be reviewed in conjunction with Lloyd's Register and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to meet regulatory and compliance requirements and obtain approval for continued operation. ZEPHR will be built at SEA-KIT's recently expanded production facility in Tollesbury, Essex, UK.