Japan Successfully Tests Hydrogen-Powered Tanker in Osaka Bay
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Japan completed a demonstration voyage considered a world first by sailing the coastal tanker Kikou Maru powered by a hydrogen engine. The voyage, carried out on September 25 in Osaka Bay, lasted around two hours and, according to The Nippon Foundation, cut approximately 1.2 tons of CO2 emissions compared to the use of conventional fossil fuels. The trial is part of a research project led by the foundation to advance the decarbonization of maritime transport.
The vessel and its specifications
The Kikou Maru was launched on February 14, 2025, at Fukuoka Shipbuilding's Nagasaki yard and delivered in October 2025 to its owner, Uyeno TransTec. The vessel has an overall length of about 105 meters. Sources differ on its tonnage and the distance covered: Maritime Executive and Marine Insight describe it as a 4,800-deadweight-ton tanker that sailed about 20 nautical miles, while Safety4Sea reports it as a 4,500-gross-ton vessel that covered approximately 33 kilometers.
Propulsion technology
The vessel uses a high-speed, four-stroke hydrogen engine designed by Yanmar Power Solutions, which generates electricity for two electric propulsion motors mounted on two shafts. The system is complemented by a hybrid generator and lithium-ion batteries to optimize fuel consumption. Initial bench tests of the engine were completed in October 2024, reaching an output of 500 kilowatts through a pilot ignition system that initially used marine gas oil and later switched to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to ignite the hydrogen-air mixture.
A multi-stage project
The demonstration is part of The Nippon Foundation's Zero Emission Ship 2050 program, launched in 2022, which in June 2023 selected three consortia to develop different technologies: in addition to the hydrogen tanker, one team worked on a hydrogen fuel cell for an offshore wind farm support vessel, tested in April 2024 aboard the passenger ship Hanaria, and another on a hydrogen engine for the 38-meter tugboat Ten'o. The foundation noted that further demonstrations by the other consortia are planned before the end of fiscal year 2026.
Goals and reactions
The project also aimed to obtain an Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK for the engine design, the fuel supply system and the hull, as well as to develop training manuals for operating hydrogen-powered vessels. Kazuma Kashiwagi, director of the Kobe Environmental Bureau, called the demonstration a significant step toward the practical application of zero-emission hydrogen-powered vessels, in line with Japan's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in domestic shipping by 2050.
