Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded Type Approval to a hydrogen-powered dual-fuel engine developed by BeHydro, a joint venture between CMB.TECH and Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC). It is the first Type Approval for a dual-fuel hydrogen engine.

The classification society awarded an Approval in Principle to the engine concept in September 2020. The award of the Type Approval was the culmination of a thorough and comprehensive Type Approval process, which was intended to ensure safety and material suitability.

The new engine, which has a capacity of up to 2.7 megawatts (MW), offers shipowners the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 85%, with dual-fuel technology allowing the engine to continue supplying power using conventional fuels when no renewable energy or hydrogen is available.

The engine development is aimed at both shoreside operations and shipping use, and paves the way for BeHydro to develop larger capacity hydrogen engines in the future.