The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Signed A Memorandum With the Hubei Provincial Government to Promote the Development of Clean Energy Ships Such as Hydrogen and Ammonia

On February 8, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the People's Government of Hubei Province signed the "Memorandum of Cooperation on Accelerating the Green and Intelligent Development of Inland Ships" (hereinafter referred to as the "Memorandum"). The two parties are guided by the promotion of the green and intelligent development of inland ships, focusing on the development of LNG-powered, battery-powered, methanol, hydrogen and other new energy and clean energy standardized ship types, accelerating the breakthrough development of Hubei's high-end equipment industry, and driving the green and intelligent transformation and upgrading of Yangtze River inland ships.

According to reports, the cooperation content is carried out in the following six aspects:

In terms of improving the green and intelligent level of inland ships, the focus is on the development of LNG-powered cargo ships with a deadweight of more than 2,000 tons, standardized box-type power supply exchange cargo ships, riverside, reservoir and lake area pure battery-powered cruise ships, official ships, etc.

In terms of promoting the transformation and upgrading of inland ship manufacturing, the advantages of Hubei's inland ship manufacturing industry will be brought into play, and a group of inland ship manufacturing backbone enterprises will be cultivated. With the improvement of the quality, efficiency and benefits of green and intelligent ship construction as the core, the digitalization and intelligent transformation of key links in general assembly construction will be used as a breakthrough, and the integration of inland ship design and construction will be deepened, and the standardized, intensive, intelligent and green production of ship manufacturing enterprises will be promoted.

In terms of promoting the standardization of inland river vessels on the Yangtze River, relevant units in Hubei Province are encouraged to develop international standards, national standards, and industry standards, promote the establishment of a technical standard system covering the entire process of inland river vessel design, manufacturing, management, and operation and maintenance, create a series of green, intelligent, and standardized ship products suitable for the Yangtze River inland waterways and closed waters, and support the inclusion of Hubei Province's standard ship types in the national green and intelligent inland river ship type catalog.

In terms of improving the innovation capacity of the inland river ship industry, Hubei Province's ship scientific research advantages will be brought into play, and a number of green and intelligent ship energy public service platforms, collaborative innovation centers, and financing and leasing platforms will be planned and built to support green and intelligent common technology research, carry out the development of optimized ship types and the integrated application of green and intelligent technologies, promote the development of clean energy ship types such as hydrogen energy and ammonia energy, and promote the integration of industry, academia, and research innovation and industrialization efficiency.

In terms of building a green and intelligent ship industry ecosystem, key enterprises in the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the ship and marine engineering equipment industry chain will be cultivated to strengthen the radiation and driving effect of the green and intelligent ship industry. Vigorously develop the ship's clean energy industry, and explore new business models such as customized procurement of standard ship steel, ship leasing, intelligent operation and maintenance, and charging and swapping services.

In terms of accelerating the pilot demonstration of green and intelligent inland ships, support the research and development, application, industrialization and large-scale development of green and intelligent ships in Hubei Province, support Hubei region to take the lead in trial, form a new model of inland green and intelligent ship operation and development that can be replicated, promoted and sustained, and accelerate the green and intelligent development of inland ships on the Yangtze River.

According to the arrangement of the Memorandum, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will provide guidance and support to Hubei in terms of industrial upgrading, base construction, scientific research projects, innovation platforms, industrial integration and other aspects, and the People's Government of Hubei Province will provide policy support in terms of priority locks, infrastructure construction, and subsidies for the renewal and transformation of old ships.

It is understood that Hubei's shipbuilding industry occupies an important position in the country, with a complete industrial chain of ship research and development, design, construction, supporting, and inspection, and the number of scientific research institutes and universities related to shipbuilding and marine engineering ranks first in the country. Since 2022, Hubei has successively issued policy documents such as the "Three-Year Action Plan for Breakthrough Development of High-end Equipment Industry in Hubei Province", and formulated a list of key tasks for the green and intelligent ship industry, striving to have more than 100 green and intelligent ships in the province by 2023, and the output value of the province's shipbuilding industry will reach 100 billion yuan by 2025.