Provaris Energy Ltd (Provaris) has announced that it has entered a Co-operation Agreement (Agreement) with its shipping partner Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (“K” LINE) and Norwegian Hydrogen AS to advance the development of a commercial shipping solution for the proposed FjordH2 Export Project located at Ørskog, Norway.
Norwegian Hydrogen is the sole developer of the FjordH2 Export Hydrogen Project (the Project) with an advanced development proposal to produce up to 40 000 tpy of hydrogen for export to Northern Europe. The project has secured land, advanced permitting and completed feasibility studies to demonstrate technical and economic viability as an export compressed hydrogen site. Together with Provaris, the Project has received support for offtake with a Term Sheet in place with Uniper Global Commodities for key terms on the supply, shipping and delivery of compressed hydrogen based on ong-term take-or-pay provisions.
Key to advancing the Project will be the development of a supply chain that includes shipping to nominated location(s) of the buyer. Together, 'K' LINE, Provaris and Norwegian Hydrogen will extend the existing detailed cost model for the supply chain to mature the cost of shipping.
Updated shipping costs and a fleet management plan will draw on “K” LINE’s long history of shipping operations which also includes their regional market experience in Norway and Norther Europe where 'K' LINE has operated LNG carriers from the Snøhvit LNG project, and more recently, the operations of fleet of LCO2 carriers for the CCS project of Northern Lights.
The scope of the co-operation will also include the development of draft terms for Shipping Charter Agreements, financing alternatives and ownership structures of the H2 carriers and barge.
'K' Line’s Corporate Officer, Kei Onishi, commented: "We are pleased to collaborate with Provaris and Norwegian Hydrogen to advance a practical compressed hydrogen shipping solution from Norway. By leveraging our operational experience, we aim to support the development of hydrogen supply chain for Northern Europe.”
Provaris’ Managing Director & CEO, Martin Carolan, added: "We are delighted to bring together the complementary capabilities across hydrogen production, marine transport and European market access to progress a viable supply chain for renewable hydrogen from Norway to North-West Europe. By combining Norwegian Hydrogen’s project development with K LINE’s shipping expertise and Provaris’ compressed hydrogen transport solution, we are focused on maturing a scalable, cost-competitive pathway that aligns with Europe’s demand for pipeline-ready RFNBO-compliant hydrogen.”
Norwegian Hydrogen’s CEO, Jens Berge, said: "Our large scale site at Ørskog where we are developing the Fjord H2 project together with Provaris and other partners is in continuous positive development, with more and more pieces coming together. Getting global major 'K' Line onboard as the shipping partner is a great positive milestone which strengthens the project and the entire value chain even further.”