In the fjords of Norway, a ship is being prepared to make maritime history. When she sets sail, part of her voyage will be powered not by diesel, but by liquid hydrogen, making her the world’s first cruise ship of her kind.
Behind this transformation is sHYpS (“sustainable HYdrogen powered Shipping”), a €8.6 million Horizon Europe project coordinated by Navalprogetti, bringing together 13 partners from seven European countries.
€8.6M
Horizon Europe funding
13 / 7
Partners across European countries
6 MW
PEM fuel cell powertrain
800 kg
Liquid hydrogen held in summer 2026 tests
The idea at the heart of sHYpS is deceptively simple: instead of waiting for hydrogen bunkering infrastructure that doesn’t yet exist in ports, why not deliver the fuel itself, ready to use?
The consortium is developing a swappable liquid hydrogen storage system, based on 45-foot ISO C-type intermodal containers, that can be filled ashore, transported by standard logistics, and loaded onboard to supply fuel to the 6 MW PEM fuel cell powertrain, a scalable and modular route to zero-emission propulsion that doesn’t require ports and shipyards to reinvent themselves overnight.
This summer, that vision moved from the drawing board onto the quay.
At the project’s dedicated test site in Staranzano, near Trieste, the sHYpS team completed the on-land testing phase of the LH₂ storage system. After installing the 45-foot ISO tank and first proving it safe under nitrogen, the team filled it with 800 kg of liquid hydrogen for two intensive weeks in July, running a full programme of characterisation and holding-time tests.
By early August, testing was complete and successful, confirming both the performance and the safety of the system under real operating conditions.
With testing done, the Staranzano site has now been dismantled, and the entire hydrogen storage and handling system is on its way to the shipyard in Ancona, where it will be installed on board a Viking cruise ship.
The first vessel to carry it is expected to be delivered by the end of November 2026, bringing the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise ship one major step closer to setting sail.
The project’s ambitions, however, reach well beyond Viking’s cruise ship.
Navalprogetti is now completing sHYpS’s scale-up activities, carrying out feasibility studies to integrate the same hydrogen system, up to and including bunkering operations, on board two cargo vessels: a 700-TEU container feeder and a 5,000-DWT general purpose ship.
The technology proven on the world’s first hydrogen cruise ship is already being engineered for a much wider slice of European shipping.
The swappable LH₂ container concept: pre-filled ashore, craned aboard, and connected directly to the ship’s fuel cell powertrain.
Overview of the hydrogen plant on board the Viking ship.
On-land testing of the TCS and 45-foot LH₂ tank at the Staranzano site, completed in early August 2026.