Students to Demonstrate Potential of Liquified Hydrogen
The 2025 TU Delft Hydro Motion Team, a team of 25 adult students, has designed a hydrofoiling boat that will be powered by liquified hydrogen.
Their project builds on the work of previous students at the Dutch university in a program dating back to 2005.
The first TU Delft design was solar powered; it was changed to compressed hydrogen in 2021.
The 2024 team focused on applying hydrogen fuel to a seaworthy vessel and made history as the first hydrogen-powered boat to cross the North Sea.
The 2025 team’s boat will be entered in the Monaco Sea Lab 2025. This involves three races – one focused on speed, one on maneuverability and one on endurance.
The students believe liquified hydrogen, which brings an almost three-fold increase in energy density compared to compressed hydrogen, is the next step forward, one that they hope the shipping industry will be inspired by. They want to demonstrate the power of innovation and team work in achieving decarbonization:
“As we look to the future, we envision a maritime industry that fully embraces sustainable technologies, setting new standards for eco-friendly practices. Our participation in this race is a significant step toward demonstrating that liquid hydrogen can play a vital role in shaping a greener, more sustainable future for maritime transportation.”
The boat will include a custom-made cryogenic hydrogen storage tank and will be powered by a fuel cell, with power buffering using a lithium iron phosphate battery. An electric motor will be connected to the rear strut, and the propeller will positioned in front of the rear strut.
The fuel storage tank will include multiple layers of insulation in a double-walled vacuum design that will limit heat transfer to 7W – the power equivalent of an LED bulb. The liquid hydrogen must be warmed to 20°C for the fuel cell, and waste heat from the fuel cell’s cooling loop will be used to achieve this.
The 7 meter by 2.4 meter carbon fiber hull will be made from the mold used for the 2023 team’s winning entry and will have a draft of 30 centimeters (nearly 12 inches). The rotation of the rear strut will provide steering, and all three foils will be computer controlled using algorithms developed by the students. Each foil will be able to be independently tilt up and down based on data gained from sensors that measure the position of the boat above the water.
With the vessel design completed last year, the students are now building the boat ready for the competition in July.