Seatrade-Maritime: Hydrogen-hybrid retrofit cuts fuel and emissions by over 20%

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

The first long range commercial voyage using a hydrogen-hybrid energy system from Newlight on a bulk carrier reduced CO2 emissions by 28%.

The test was carried out onboard 57,038 dwt Lomar Shipping bulker on an 8,500 nm voyage between Singapore and Ghana. Over the course of the voyage fuel consumption was reduced by 24%, CO2 emissions by 28%, and carbon monoxide emissions by 20%.

The Newlight system injects small proportion of hydrogen into a ship’s existing combustion process. It is guided by an AI-driven combustion controller that Newlight said continuously optimizes hydrogen injection pressure and volume as engine load, speed, and operating conditions change.

The company said the retrofitted system can be installed in one to two weeks on an existing vessel while it continues to operate, meaning there is no downtime or drydocking required.

“We are building a new energy layer for the diesel engines already powering the global economy, making them materially more efficient and cleaner without requiring them to be replaced,” said Haran Cohen Hillel, Co-Founder and CEO of Newlight. “The vessel didn’t need to change how it operated. We simply gave its existing engine a way to do more, and it did so successfully across thousands of miles at sea.”

Based on the test voyage the system would save an estimated $500,000 in operating costs annually on a similar size 57,000 dwt vessel with claimed payback period of under 18 months.

Newlight is part of lomarlabs Compass Programme and it also became an investor to test the system.

Stylianos Papageorgiou, Managing Director at lomarlabs, said, “This voyage has demonstrated that hydrogen can safely be managed and used onboard, to enhance the combustion of HFO and reduce emissions. It therefore provides a new pathway for sustained compliance within the IMO 2050 framework for existing and aging vessels.”

If hydrogen is not available the engine can continue to run diesel alone. The Newlight system has received regulatory approval from RINA

Newlight said it is gaining traction for the retrofitted system and has signed commercial agreements covering 12 vessels across multiple shipping companies, with broader fleet rollouts planned for next year.