LNGameChanger: Consortium sets sight on LNG-fuelled shipping with on-board CO2 capture and storage

26 Mar 2025 12:00 CET

Ålesund, Norway, 26 March 2025 – A Norwegian consortium has teamed up to develop
a new solution for decarbonizing maritime transport by capturing and storing CO2
from LNG-fuelled Solide Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) power trains.

The project is called LNGameChanger and is led by maritime technology supplier
HAV Group, plus coastal cruise operator Havila Voyages, natural gas company
Molgas Norway (formerly Gasnor), and research institution SINTEF.

The potentially game-changing research project was unveiled Wednesday at a press
conference in Ålesund, Norway, held on board Havila Voyages’ coastal cruise ship
Havila Capella.

“The LNGameChanger project aims to create the basis of a new product in form of
a low-or zero-emission solution for the maritime industry, strongly positioned
for a growing LNG market and infrastructure with superior efficiency to
alternative solutions. If this objective is achieved, LNG can become not only a
transitional fuel, but a permanently viable option in low-emission maritime
transport, alongside for example hydrogen,” says Gunnar Larsen, CEO of HAV
Group.

Given a successful outcome of LNGameChanger, project owner HAV Group has a clear
ambition to further mature the solution towards commercialization and include it
in the company’s growing portfolio of low-and zero-emission solutions to the
maritime sector.

Project objectives
The LNGameChanger project’s primary objective is to design an innovative,
decarbonized maritime LNG-fuelled power train combining solid oxide fuel cells
(SOFC) and high-efficiency onboard CO2 liquefaction and storage, resulting in a
CO2-equivalent intensity between the 2045 and 2050 emission limits.

Secondary objectives are to confirm energy efficiency and emission targets for
the SOFC power train with CO2 capture in stand-alone mode. The project also aims
to establish a user case with a vessel design and relevant operational profile
to extract load profile characteristics and perform voyage simulations for the
vessel in study. The user case may be Havila Voyages’ four coastal cruise ships.
The performance of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power train integrated with
the onboard CO2 capture and storage (OCCS) will be determined. It will also
evaluate overall space and weight requirements and adaptability for marine
applications.

Havila Voyages’ four coastal cruise ships all use LNG as fuel in combination
with battery power today. As one of Norway’s leading shipowners when it comes to
innovative green shipping, the company takes great interest in the LNGameChanger
project.

“We have clear ambitions to move towards carbon neutrality and eventually zero
emissions, and that can be done with our current fleet. This project is of great
interest for us as our main power source today is LNG. We are eagerly awaiting
the results and possibilities that lay ahead,” says Bent Martini, CEO of Havila
Voyages.

“To be able to meet future requirements and reach the goals for a greener
future, we cannot lock ourselves in one direction. We have to investigate the
possibilities available to find the best solution, both for the environment and
from a business perspective.”

LNG distribution
In addition to the required onboard processes, LNGameChanger will also address
the infrastructure needs related to decentralized CO2 collection and transport
in port. This includes the potential for combining this logistically with LNG
distribution.

“This technology could provide a clear pathway for large scale, low emission
solution that leverages well known and robust supply chain of energy to hard to
abate sectors. Molgas Energy supports developments that aims to reduce emissions
based on available technology and product availability,” says Anders Torp Rød,
managing director at Molgas Norway, which is a leading buyer, distributor and
seller of natural gas to industrial and marine sectors in Norway.

Significant market potential
International shipping carries around 80 percent of traded goods and accounts
for around three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. While LNG only
accounts for about four percent of the fuel supply, the number of LNG-powered
ships is predicted to increase substantially as global shipping is embarking on
a fuel technology transition.

According to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform, the number of
LNG-fuelled ships in operation doubled between 2021 and 2024, with a record
number of deliveries (169) in 2024. By the end of 2024, 641 LNG-powered ships
were in operation. According to the orderbook, this number is expected to double
by the end of the decade.

“It is also worth remembering that between 2024 and 2026, the EU Emissions
Trading System (EU ETS) is gradually extended to include emissions in the
maritime transport sector, and from 2025 the FuelEU Maritime regulation has
entered into force. This gives extra incentives for the development and
deployment of technologies for reducing or eliminating maritime CO2 emissions,”
adds Gunnar Larsen.

Financial and scientific support
The Norwegian Research Council has awarded LNGameChanger a grant of
approximately NOK 5 million over the project’s two-year duration, providing
ground for research activities by SINTEF. The project partners – HAV Group,
Havila Voyages and Molgas Norway – will be actively involved in the project
execution. For HAV Group, this includes involving technical experts for ship and
systems integration, regulatory compliance and risk assessment as well as
overall project management.

The first step of the LNGameChanger project is to conduct necessary feasibility
studies and simulations to define the readiness to take the decarbonized SOFC
power train solution to a subsequent prototype demonstration level in a
successor project.

"We are excited to be a part of this project. SINTEF is involved in a growing
portfolio of projects that focus on different solutions for decarbonization of
the maritime industry. A low-to-zero-emission concept that combines an
established maritime fuel with innovative CO2 capture technology is a promising
solution that can be applied to many different vessel types," says David
Berstad, researcher at SINTEF


(ENDS)

For more information, please contact:
Gunnar Larsen, CEO of HAV Group
gunnar.larsen@havgroup.no
+47 901 05 694

About HAV Group | www.havgroup.no
HAV Group and its subsidiaries (together: “HAV Group”) is an international
provider of technology and services for maritime and marine industries. HAV
Group has several decades of industry experience, in addition to special
expertise in guiding the marine and maritime industries through the green shift
and towards the goal of zero emissions. HAV Group ASA is listed on Euronext
Growth under the ticker code HAV.

About Havila Voyages | www.havilavoyages.com
Havila Voyages is a Norwegian shipping company that operates the classic coastal
route between Bergen and Kirkenes with the Norwegian coast's most
environmentally friendly ships.
The four new ships are loaded with one the world's largest battery pack ever
installed on passenger ships and can sail for up to four hours without noise or
emissions through vulnerable areas. The batteries are charged with clean
hydropower at shore, and when the batteries are low we switch to natural gas.
Our plug-in hybrid operations cuts CO2 by around 35 % compared to similar ships
powered by heavy fuel oils.

The hull is specially designed for maximum energy efficiency and to withstand
the harsh conditions of the Norwegian coastline. Excess heat from cooling water
and sea are used for heating on board. On the menu you will find locally made
dishes from local producers, and all unnecessary plastic is avoided. We are
already exceeding the authorities' requirements for cutting emission, and we
have set sail with zero emissions as the future target.

Havila Voyages is part of the Havila Group that dates back to the 1950s. It all
started when the founder, Per Sævik, bought his first fishing boat in his teens.
From fishing and herring fishing, Havila is now a group operating in shipping
technology, offshore, transport and tourism.

About Molgas Norway
Molgas, where Molgas Norway is part of the group, is currently one of the
largest small-scale providers of LNG in Europe. The company has more than three
decades of experience delivering natural gas to a wide range of end consumers
both on land and at sea.

About SINTEF
SINTEF is one of Europe's largest independent research institutes, with
multidisciplinary expertise within technology, natural sciences and social
sciences. Since 1950, SINTEF is an independent foundation which, since 1950, has
created innovation through development and research assignments for business and
the public sector at home and abroad.

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