LNGameChanger Consortium is Decarbonizing Maritime Sector with New LNG Power Train

The HAV Group, Havila Voyages, Molgas Norway, and SINTEF established a consortium to decarbonize the maritime transport industry: LNGameChanger. Their main objective is to design, manufacture, test, and commercialize an LNG-fired power train that uses solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and onboard CO₂ liquefaction and storage, meeting the CO₂-equivalent intensity of Norway’s 2045-2050 emission standards. LNGameChanger also aims to set energy efficiency and emission targets for the SOFC power train during stand-alone operation.

The consortium may leverage Havila Voyages’ four coastal cruise ships to demonstrate and evaluate load profile characteristics, conduct voyage simulations, and determine overall weight, space, and marine adaptability requirements. Havila’s vessels already use LNG fuel and battery power during operation. Upon finishing feasibility studies and simulations, LNGameChanger will take the SOFC power train to a prototype demonstration stage in a later project.

Havila's coastal cruise ship; image credit: Corvus Energy

“The LNGameChanger project aims to create the basis of a new product in the form of a low- or zero-emission solution for the maritime industry, positioned for a growing LNG market and infrastructure with superior efficiency to alternative solutions,” said Gunnar Larsen, CEO of HAV Group. “If this objective is achieved, LNG can become not only a transitional fuel, but a permanently viable option in low-emission maritime transport, alongside for example hydrogen.”

In addition to evaluating and validating the onboard technology, LNGameChanger will also decentralize port-based CO₂ collection and transport in combination with LNG distribution. If successful, HAV Group will attempt to commercialize the maritime power train for low- and zero-emissions sectors.

“We have clear ambitions to move towards carbon neutrality and eventually zero emissions, and that can be done with our current fleet,” said Bent Martini, CEO of Havila Voyages. “This project is of interest for us as our main power source today is LNG. We are eagerly awaiting the results and possibilities that lay ahead. To be able to meet future requirements and reach the goals for a greener future, we cannot lock ourselves in one direction. We have to investigate the possibilities available to find the best solution, both for the environment and from a business perspective.”

Research & Funding

The Norwegian Research Council granted LNGameChanger approximately NOK 5 million over two years, funding SINTEF’s research work and project execution by HAV Group, Havila Voyages, and Molgas Norway. HAV Group is responsible for:

• Using technical experts for ship and systems integration
• Regulatory compliance
• Risk assessment
• Overall project management

"We are excited to be a part of this project,” said David Berstad, Researcher at SINTEF. “SINTEF is involved in a growing portfolio of projects that focus on different solutions for decarbonization of the maritime industry. A low-to-zero-emission concept that combines an established maritime fuel with CO₂ capture technology is a promising solution that can be applied to many different vessel types.”

Norway’s Maritime Decarbonization

In early June 2024, as part of Norway’s government initiative to cut emissions from vessels operating in the Lofoten Islands crossing, MAN Cryo was contracted to work on a project to design and engineer two hydrogen-powered new-build RoPax ferries for Torghatten Nord A/S. The new vessels were designed by the Norwegian Ship Design Co. and the hulls were constructed at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey, then towed to Norway’s Myklebust shipyard for outfitting.