Posted on 08 Jul 2025
Chinese battery giant CATL and state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) have recently launched what they call China’s first hydrogen electric tugboat.
The vessel known as Hydrogen Electric Tug 1 is operating at the Qingdao port, in the Chinese province of Shandong province, Kallanish learns.
According to CATL, it features the largest horsepower and lithium battery capacity in the country. The manufacturer says the 7,838-kilowatt-hour liquid-cooled battery system offers an energy density of 140 watt-hour/kilogram, and a maximum output power of 5,200 kW.
In combination with two 100-kW hydrogen fuel cells, the tugboat can sail for more than 12 hours at a speed of 9 knots, towing 82 tonnes. It’s expected to avoid 1,500 t/y of CO2 emissions, helping to decarbonise the Qingdao Port.
CSSC designed the fuel cell system in alignment with the China Classification Society. Yet specific details are yet to be disclosed.
The delivery of the hybrid hydrogen-electric tugboat follows CSSC’s operation of the Three Gorges Hydrogen Boat 1, which runs on hydrogen fuel cell technology. This boat is equipped with eight sets of 70-kW fuel cell modules, demonstrating how hydrogen can propel the vessel. The boat runs between the Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams for transportation, inspection, emergency and other works. It has a range of up to 200 km.
Source:Kallanish
