Shipping, Hydrogen & Port Ecosystems UK (SHAPE UK)

Scalability, affordability and adaptability are paramount to the adoption of low carbon fuel sources within the maritime sector. Maritime operations are paramount to the efficient movement of goods nationally and globally but are often high contributors of CO2e emissions and air pollutants. The adoption of decentralised energy systems offers the potential to support the necessary transition of ports and their operations to a net-zero with carbon and climate positive. The 'Shipping, Hydrogen & Ports Ecosystems UK' (**SHAPE UK**) project aims to demonstrate an achievable modular green hydrogen generation system within Portsmouth International Port (**PIP**) delivering a decision support tool that will enable port managers to determine the environmental and economic use cases for hydrogen generation and utilisation.

This project will be a catalyst and early foundation programme for the Solent Freeport innovation hub to build upon. It will address the barriers to installing Hydrogen (**H2**) generators within the maritime landscape. Modular H2 electrolysers offer flexibility and adaptability to expand production capability and utilise excess renewable electricity as it is generated, but the current high cap-ex costs can prohibit their adoption. This is combined with the emerging regulatory frameworks for the generation/ storage and utilisation as a marine fuel source. The work undertaken here aims to determine the utilisation of a modular electrolyser within an active port. A digital twin of the port will be created that can be reproduced for other ports: existing and emerging data from the port and its activities will be combined with the data gathered from the working electrolyser. This software will then be utilised with key stakeholder ports across the UK to determine the economic and environmental suitability of deploying H2 systems within their operations. A retrofitted common diesel outboard to utilise up to 99% H2 and 1% diesel will demonstrate a use case for the portside hydrogen for their support fleet. The regulatory landscape around which the electrolyser and the use of H2 in fleet vehicles will be reviewed and analysed, determining where deployment can immediately occur and where regulations need to be addressed.