Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yanmar Power Solutions and Japan Engine Corporation have completed what they say is the world’s first land-based operation of marine hydrogen engines, using a new liquefied hydrogen (LH2) storage and fuel supply system at J-ENG’s factory in Hyogo.
Backed by NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund, the setup stores and gasifies LH2 and can feed both high- and low-pressure hydrogen to different engine types, enabling tests on low-speed two-stroke main engines, four-stroke auxiliaries and four-stroke gensets for electric-propulsion ships.
Kawasaki and Yanmar reported stable hydrogen combustion at rated output on medium-speed four-strokes, while J-ENG’s low-speed two-stroke is due to begin operation in spring 2026.
All three engines use dual-fuel systems that can switch between hydrogen and diesel to maintain redundancy, with the aim of sharply cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. The partners now plan to work with owners and yards on onboard trials to move toward commercial adoption
