世界首艘液态氢运输船在日本川崎重工命名下水

2019年12月11日，川崎重工有限公司宣布正式命名下水全球第一艘液氢运输船“SUISO FRONTIER”号。

“SUISO FRONTIER”号的开发设计了一种以原始气态体积的1/800冷却至–253°C的液氢的方法，该方法可以实现安全、大量地远距离海上运输。计划在船上安装一个1250立方米的真空绝热、双壳结构的液化氢储罐，该储罐目前在Harima Works生产，并在2020年末完成该船的建造。一旦完成，将使用“SUISO FRONTIER”在2020年进行技术演示测试，目的是建立国际氢能供应链，将澳大利亚生产的液氢运往日本。

氢作为应对全球变暖的重要下一代能源正日益普及。它在使用过程中不会排放CO2或其他温室气体，预期的应用包括发电、燃料电池汽车等。为了使氢气成为与石油和天然气一样普遍的燃料来源，川崎于2016年与岩谷株式会社（岩谷），壳牌日本有限公司和电力发展有限公司（J-POWER）一起成立氢能供应链技术研究协会（HySTRA），该组织一直在致力于建立能源供应链的技术开发，以实现经济、可靠地大量采购氢气。除了这种最新的液氢载体，还在兵库县神户市建设了液氢卸货码头，并在澳大利亚建设了褐煤气化设施。此外，由川崎，岩谷和J-POWER以及丸红株式会社和AGL Loy Yang Pty Ltd 组成的财团于2018年成立，并获得了澳大利亚和维多利亚州政府的财政支持，用于建设天然气精炼设施，氢液化和加载终端等。

川崎将氢能业务作为其实现可持续发展目标（SDGs）的一部分，在生产、储存、运输和利用等各个阶段执行开发项目。1981年，川崎公司成为亚洲第一家制造液化天然气（LNG）载体的公司，现在，作为世界上第一家完成液化氢载体的公司，它将进一步努力建立一个氢气社会。

Tokyo, December 11, 2019 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today its official naming and launch at Kobe Works of the SUISO FRONTIER (Kawasaki hull no. 1740), the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier.

This vessel was developed to provide a means of transporting liquefied hydrogen at 1/800 of its original gas-state volume, cooled to –253°C, safely and in large quantities over long distances by sea. Kawasaki plans to install a 1,250 m3 vacuum-insulated, double-shell-structure liquefied hydrogen storage tank, currently being manufactured at Harima Works, on the ship and complete the vessel's construction by late 2020. Once complete, the SUISO FRONTIER will be used for technology demonstration testing in Japanese FY 2020 aimed at the establishment of an international hydrogen energy supply chain*1 in which liquefied hydrogen produced in Australia will be shipped to Japan.

Hydrogen is gaining popularity as a key next-generation energy source to combat global warming. It does not emit CO2 or other greenhouse gases during use, and expected applications include power generation, fuel cell vehicles and more. With the goal of making hydrogen just as common a fuel source as petroleum and natural gas, Kawasaki joined together in 2016 with Iwatani Corporation (Iwatani), Shell Japan Limited, and Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) to form the CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association (HySTRA).*2 This organization has, with the support of NEDO,*3 been pursuing technological development aimed at building an energy supply chain enabling economical and reliable sourcing of hydrogen in large volumes. In addition to this latest liquefied hydrogen carrier, a liquefied hydrogen unloading terminal is being built in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and a brown coal gasification facility is being constructed in Australia. In addition, a consortium*4 comprising Kawasaki, Iwatani and J-POWER along with Marubeni Corporation and AGL Loy Yang Pty Ltd, was formed in 2018 and has received financial support from the Australian and Victorian governments to build a gas refining facility, hydrogen liquefaction & loading terminal and more.

Kawasaki is pursuing this hydrogen business as part of its efforts toward sustainable development goals (SDGs), carrying out development projects in every phase including production, storage, transportation, and utilization. In 1981, Kawasaki became the first Asian company to manufacture a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, and now as the world's first company to complete a liquefied hydrogen carrier it will further its efforts toward achieving a Hydrogen Society.