ClassNK issues Certificate of Technology Qualification for Ship Shore Coupler developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and TB Global Technologies

TOKYO: ClassNK has conducted Technology Qualification (TQ) for Ship to Shore Couplers (hereinafter ‘this product’) for liquefied hydrogen (LH2) transport jointly developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and TB Global Technologies, Ltd. and the relevant certificate has been issued. TQ is for qualification of safety of a new technology, showing equivalent to the technology based on existing rules and regulations, and this is the first case in ClassNK for liquefied hydrogen marine equipment.

Development of liquefied hydrogen carriers that enable large-scale and efficient transportation is actively underway, to build a hydrogen supply chain that is expected to be a clean energy source in a decarbonized society. In order to support the social implementation and commercialization of such a new technology, ClassNK has issued Guidelines for Technology Qualification*1, which provide a certification process for technologies based on new concepts and designs that cannot be addressed by existing rules and standards.

This product, jointly developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and TB Global Technologies, is a flanged-style coupler for connecting the cargo handling piping of a liquefied hydrogen carrier to a marine loading arm installed on the jetty at a liquefied hydrogen site (see Figure 1).

ClassNK has reviewed this product based on Guidelines for Technology Qualification, Guidelines for Liquefied Hydrogen Carriers*2, which cover various safety requirements for liquefied hydrogen carriers, and the other relevant standards.

For ensuring safe loading and unloading of liquefied hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures (-253°C), ClassNK examined various safety evaluations including risk assessment based on the novelty of the components of the product, qualification tests including the ones using liquefied hydrogen at Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Upon confirming the satisfaction of the defined requirements, the certificate of technology qualification was issued.