Suiso Frontier Arrives in Oman

Suiso Frontier — the world’s first successful liquid hydrogen ship — is making a landmark stop at the Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat. The ship was built by Japanese Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) in 2020 in collaboration with the Japanese Government in aim of enabling the transport of large amounts of liquid hydrogen, a previously challenging task due to the extremely low boiling point of hydrogen and its need for energy-intensive cooling. However, the 8,000-ton vessel was able to successfully transport 1250 cubic meters of liquid hydrogen from Australia to Japan, as part of a joint US$355 million venture between the two countries known as the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC). During which, hydrogen produced by reacting coal with oxygen under high pressure and temperature, was transported to a liquefying plant, where it was loaded onto the ship for export on a two-week journey. The journey marked the first of its kind, and according a to a spokesperson the ship’s visit intends to establish global large-scale liquid hydrogens supply chains while promoting global cooperation and the transfer of clean energy technology. The vessel is 116 meters long and 19 meters wide and utilizes a “a vacuum-insulated double-wall structure” to retain and maintain hydrogen at a temperature of -253 degrees Celsius. According to a recent assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Sultanate of Oman is well positioned to become the sixth largest exporter of hydrogen in the world by 2030, with a set target of producing 1 million tons of renewable hydrogen per year. However, due to a lack of appropriate infrastructure for handling and transporting liquid hydrogen in bulk, exports are expected to be transported in the form of ammonia until the end of the decade.