Moscow. Russia’s first hydrogen powered ship ‘Ecobalt’ will undergo sea trials this month. Oleg Savchenko, director general of the Krylov State Research Center (KSRC), said it has been designed as a 12-passenger recreational boat. Savchenko said the ship is equipped with electrochemical generators running on hydrogen fuel. News agency RIA Novosti quoted Savchenko as saying that it would be Russia’s first ship with a domestically produced electrochemical hydrogen generator, which represents a fully import substitute technology.
The project is being led by KSRC, the leading developer of ship design, materials and technology for the Russian Navy. The ship was built by Ak Bars at the Gorky Zelenodolsk Shipyard. It was built on the basis of a design prepared by KSRC’s Baltsudoproekt Central Design Bureau. AK Bars Director General Renat Mistakhov said the ship is a prototype to refine hydrogen-based technology and develop a universal power module using fuel cells.