ASX-LISTED energy company Provaris has received an approval in principle for a hydrogen floating storage unit.

The American Bureau of Shipping issued the AiP for the so-called H2Leo vessel.

The AiP allows for a design storage-capacity range of between 300 and 600 tonnes of hydrogen, but Provaris anticipates future development and approvals to expand the capacity to 2000 tonnes.

Provaris said the vessel would provide cost-effective and energy-efficient storage for the global hydrogen industry.

It said H2Leo would also optimise the company’s own compressed-hydrogen supply-chain projects by providing buffer storage at import and export locations, ultimately reducing costs.

Provaris managing director and CEO Martin Carolan said the floating storage unit would provide an alternative to current high-cost bulk-scale solutions.

“Provaris sees the development of a floating storage solution as a natural extension of its compressed hydrogen IP,” Mr Carolan said.

“We believe a floating storage solution will complement our pipeline of hydrogen production and transport projects and decrease timelines to first revenues and IP commercialisation.”

And Provaris chief technical officer Per Roed said the H2Leo can be optimised in size, capacity and operations for different applications.

“Its SIMOPs capability allows for continuous operations, and it has a large working deck and hull for installing auxiliary systems such as compression and [hydrogen] bunkering,” he said.

“Provaris is developing production capacity for cargo tanks that can be operational for floating storage by 2025 which will cater to short term demand for storage and allow Provaris to gain operational experience and de-risk the continued development of the H2Neo carrier.”

The H2Leo unit was designed with two cargo tanks with independent isolation, safety valves and manifolds for compressed hydrogen transfer.

The ABS carried out risk and safety workshops to assess and mitigate hydrogen handling risks.

Provaris intends to work with ABS for design approval, cargo tank testing and construction.