French inland ship operator Compagnie Fluvial de Transport (CFT) aims to deploy this year what it claims is the world’s first commercial cargo transport vessel operating on hydrogen.
A Zulu-type, 50-metre-long newbuilding pallet shuttle barge scheduled for delivery in September 2021 will be fitted with a hydrogen power generation system under the European innovation project Flagships.
The vessel will demonstrate “the superior features of hydrogen fuel cells in waterborne applications,” said CFT director Matthieu Blanc, whose company is a subsidiary of the French freight firm Sogestran Group.
