Thor Dahl has during its 135 years of history, previously converted from vessels powered by sail to steam and from steam to diesel. Now the company and the maritime industry face an equally ground breaking change, as the need to reduce the climate footprint of ocean transport is changing the future ship design and propulsion technology dramatically.
Thor Dahl PURE carrier is a 5,000 tonne zero emission bulk carrier, designed to sail up to 1,000 nautical miles without emitting either CO2, NoX or SoX. Our solution is to utilise efficient fuel cells in combination with pressurized hydrogen as the energy carrier. Hydrogen represents an established and proven technology from aerospace and land transport. In gaseous form, Hydrogen is energy efficient to handle and well suited for regional distances that characterize short sea shipping in Norway and Europe.
Through ENOVA SF, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment will contribute to the realisation of the first vessel with a grant of NOK 97 mill.
This is a very important milestone towards Thor Dahl PURE Carrier (Thor Dahl Bulk AS) goal of owning a fleet of emission free cargo ships for global use, with the potential to replace today’s fossil-fuelled ships in established and new markets in a profitable way.
Within the short sea bulk segment in Norway and Europe, the vessels are of a size that zero emission technology is technical and commercial feasible. In addition, the age profile of the existing fleet points to several hundred vessels soon being ripe for renewal. As such, the project has the potential to pave the way for sustainable fleet renewal not only nationally, but also internationally.
Going forward, we aim to give as many cargo customers as possible the opportunity to transport their goods emission-free at sea. With low operational barriers to deploy the ship, on ordinary and familiar contract terms, we believe the future for these vessels will prove both green and profitable for ship owners and charterers alike, and by that paving the way for a climate-neutral and profitable maritime industry!
Thor Dahl Shipping Group 