British marine operator Attollo has unveiled designs for $100 million zero emissions autonomous hydrogen vessels fitted with ultramodern technology and crew facilities. Set to hit waters by 2030, the pioneering autonomous ships are fitted with state-of-the-art sustainable technology and ergonomic workspaces.
The concepts are part of a multi-generational Research & Development mission known as ‘Project Zero’ – with the vessels named after the three pillars of the project: Hope, Destiny and Progress.
Dedicated to deploying future technology to support the next generation of offshore marine projects, Project Zero’s autonomous ships utilise zero emission hydrogen fuel cells, benefitting from onboard renewable power generation (solar and wind power) and built-in state-of-the-art technology from computer vision to AI.
All three vessels – United Hope, United Destiny and United Progress – are designed for optimum working conditions, ensuring staff remain healthy, happy, and productive whilst on board.
The vessels are being unveiled after leaders gathered for COP26 last month – the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place in Glasgow and achieved pledges to keep alive hopes of limiting human caused global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Under current legislation, the Climate Change Act commits the UK government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050. This includes reducing emissions from the devolved administrations, which currently account for about 20 per cent of the UK’s emissions.
Attollo’s vessel design has been funded with help of government support and assistance from V&A Dundee ‘Design Accelerator’ for low carbon technologies. CENEX transport consultancy conducted vital research into the zero-emissions propulsion technologies.
Jen Ballie, design for business research manager at V&A Dundee, said: “Attollo’s Project Zero is one of the most exciting ideas we have worked on in our Design for Business programme, and these plans for zero emissions vessels could be a game-changing development in sustainable offshore travel. V&A Dundee works with organisations of all sectors and sizes to support their innovation, putting design thinking tools to use and solving complex social and technical problems. Attollo’s design combines sustainability and technology innovation in a remarkable way and we’re very proud to have supported this project.”
Fergus Worthy, general manager at CENEX said: “Attollo want to use zero emission at point of use propulsion technology for its next generation vessels. We undertook an evaluation into the technologies available for marine applications to enable short-, medium-, and long-term strategies for a transition to zero emission operations in line with Attollo’s goals. Zero emission marine propulsion technology is in its infancy, but Attollo want to demonstrate early leadership and adoption for large scale commercial maritime applications.”
Attollo has also signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – a net-zero standard which gives companies science-based certification of their sustainability targets. Project Zero represents part of that commitment.
Attollo chief executive, Ben Moore, said: “All our future plans are now carried out with our net zero commitments in mind. Designing zero carbon at point of use vessel to ensure that all parts of our operations are as sustainable as possible is a natural next step for us. Project Zero is our ambitious programme to create the tomorrow we want to see. One with zero emissions energy propelling our vessels and cutting-edge technology taking the offshore marine industry into the future. Without big ideas and significant investment in the future, companies face becoming obsolete as we move into a decarbonised world. Project Zero provides vision and structure to our R&D plans.”
