HyCruiser 28 - A quiet leisure boat alternative

While confidentiality prevents HYEX Safety from sharing insight into most projects we are involved in, there are examples of projects where details and our involvement are announced by the client. A leading Norwegian boating magazine, 'Båtens Verden' recently published a 4-page article about HyCruiser - a 28 ft daycruiser constructed for silent zero-emission operation with a range up to 225 nm (25 h at 9 knots) using batteries, hydrogen and fuel cells.

HYEX Safety has supported the development team at HYREX (hyrex.no) for about a year, providing risk assessment and safety advice related to their fuel-cell testing laboratory, and advice on safe handling of hydrogen on board. The first carbon-fibre hull is currently made for a prototype to be sailing in September, and the ambition is to offer vessels for sale from 2022.

Leisure vessels require CE-approval by a notified body, and there are even less applicable rules than for commercial vessels where the IGF-code -alternative design approach applies. The principle will still be similar, a safest possible design is developed, the perceived risk is documented through a risk assessment and submitted as documentation for the CE-approval process. HYREX has been in close dialogue with the Norwegian Maritime Authorites (NMA) during the process.