Lloyd’s Register and Pusan National University have formalised a partnership to develop what they describe as the first internationally recognised joint performance evaluation and certification framework for liquid hydrogen carriers and onboard systems.
Liquid hydrogen must be stored at around −253°C and introduces complex challenges in materials engineering, containment design and operational safety.
Without agreed benchmarks for standardisation and verification, shipowners, shipyards and financiers face difficulties in assessing risk and progressing projects through design approval to construction. The new framework proposed by LR and PNU will address this gap by providing a consistent and globally applicable basis for evaluating system performance, safety and reliability.
Under the partnership LR and PNU will jointly assess cryogenic storage systems, including tank insulation performance and associated piping, while also verifying structural integrity under operational conditions, alongside detailed safety and risk assessments and the development of testing methodologies tailored to marine environments.
Claudene Sharp-Patel, Global Technical Director at Lloyd’s Register, said: ‘As pressure mounts on shipping to decarbonise, the introduction of a clear and technically robust certification pathway for liquid hydrogen systems is expected to accelerate project development and reduce barriers to entry.’
She added: ‘By aligning testing, verification and certification under a recognised framework, our partnership with PNU aims to provide the level of assurance required for shipowners, yards and regulators to advance liquid hydrogen from concept to commercial reality.’
Jae-Myung Lee, Director of PNU’s Hydrogen Ship Technology Center, said the agreement ‘marks the establishment of the world’s first certification body in the liquid hydrogen field’.
The framework is expected to support early-stage projects moving from concept design to class approval and construction. It may also play a role in shaping future class rules and informing international regulatory development, an area where alignment remains limited for hydrogen applications.
Certification frameworks such as this are likely to become a prerequisite for building new fuel supply chains, including those linked to carbon capture, hydrogen production and long-distance energy transport.
