Norwegian aquaculture support company awarded funding for hydrogen-powered processing vessels

Norwegian aquaculture support operator Napier has secured NOK123 million (US$11.7 million) in investment support from state-owned financing agency Enova for the development of a new series of stun and bleed vessels that will be powered by hydrogen. The vessels will each have a length of 50 metres, a cargo capacity of approximately 300 tonnes, and a propulsion system that uses compressed hydrogen as fuel in combination with battery technology.

Design work on the vessels will be provided by local naval architecture firm Salt Ship Design. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2027.

When using a processing vessel, the fish is killed at the edge of the cage shortly after it has been loaded on board. The fish swim through a counter-current pool and in through fully automatic bleeding machines, where the fish are killed before being transported to the slaughterhouse in a refrigerated state. Each vessel can thus transport fish more efficiently compared to the transport of live fish, which also requires large quantities of water. This means that smaller vessels can be used to transport the same amount of fish – which already provides about a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to vessels for live transport.