Render by Tecma Solutions
2024
NatPower
Design
NatPowerH Hydrogen Refuelling Stations
The world’s first green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for the recreational boating industry will be initiated in 25 Italian marinas and ports with stations designed by ZHA.
A €100 million investment led by NatPower H, part of the NatPower group, the green hydrogen infrastructure will begin installation in the summer of 2024 and targets the provision of 100 refuelling stations throughout the Mediterranean over the next six years, with further expansion to the world’s most popular regions for recreational boating.
Produced with wind, solar and other renewable energy infrastructure, green hydrogen is converted into a stable, natural resource using NatPower H technologies offering unlimited possibilities to meet the ever-increasing global demand for sustainable sources of power. Emitting only water vapor and warm air, hydrogen generates electrical power in a fuel cell.
The 100 refuelling stations operational by 2030 will deliver up to 3650 tons of green hydrogen annually, eliminating approximately 45,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the Mediterranean’s recreational boats every year.
Render by Tecma Solutions
NatPower H has developed a green hydrogen fuel solution based on three key principles: safety, scalability and sustainability. The NatPower H stations will supply hydrogen using proven RINA PED certified low-pressure metal hydrides technologies for marine applications that ensure compactness, safety and resilience in compliance with industry regulations and certifications together with a meticulous focus on circularity and the protection of marine ecosystems.
The boating industry is increasingly demanding ever more sustainable vessels and the world’s shipyards are responding with solutions to reduce the ecological impact of their operations. The demarcation of protected marine areas around the world which now prohibit the use of diesel engines underscores the importance of ecologically sustainable developments in the industry. This rapid energy transition is currently held back by the lack of infrastructure for distribution and refuelling with zero-impact energy sources.
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Installing the infrastructure to deliver green hydrogen, NatPower H aims to create a network of sustainable energy hubs in all major Italian marinas and establish ideal conditions to facilitate the ongoing development and use of hydrogen-powered vessels.
NatPower H is collaborating with ZHA to construct green hydrogen refuelling stations that are ecologically responsible and meet the highest safety standards. Drawing on ZHA’s research into modular systems, the design is adaptable to the many varied locations throughout the Mediterranean, enabling a customized configuration for each refuelling station based on specific local needs such as overall size, seating, bike charging facilities and the pedestrian circulation within each port and marina.
Utilising 3D robotic material placement to create the segments of each structure, the stations are fully recyclable, dry-assembled masonry, minimising construction waste while also enhancing material efficiencies. The layered composition of 3D-printed blocks echoes the processes evident in nature which create the striated structures and fluid geometries of natural formations within Mediterranean landscapes and marine ecosystems.
The refuelling stations’ design has developed from ZHA’s Computation and Design Research Group’s (ZHA CODE) collaboration with Block Research Group and Incremental3D investigating unreinforced masonry structures, 3D-printed concrete and sustainable digital concrete construction. Evident in the team’s acclaimed Striatus Bridge in Venice and the Pheonix Bridge at the Holcim Innovation Hub in Lyon, circular construction integrating computational design and 3D-printing reduces the structural materials required by up to 50% with no compromise in performance using blocks that can be easily disassembled and recycled.
Transport + Infrastructure
From an airport that sets new standards for service to a state of the art flood defense system that doubles as a public promenade, discover our latest transport and infrastructure projects.
Render by X-Universe
Phase One of the new Bishoftu International Airport (BIA) will serve 60 million passengers a year. Further phases will serve up to 110 million passengers annually with four runways and parking for 270 aircraft.
Photograph by Xue Liang 薛亮
Grand Canal Gateway Bridge
Uniting cultural heritage with 21st century engineering and recyclable materials, the Grand Canal Gateway Bridge is both sculptural and sustainable, designed for longevity with minimal environmental impact.
ZHA's design draws from Lithuanian cultural heritage, incorporating traditional motifs and art forms within a contemporary architectural language. The terminal's modular geometry originates from the rhombus, a triangular shape that holds significant meaning in Baltic folklore.
A large-scale urban regeneration project in Naples that reconnects the city’s fragmented urban fabric and incorporates the new Campania Region headquarters.
Render by Negativ
Repurposing an existing shipping warehouse built in 1960 into a new 20,000 sq. m ferry and cruise ship terminal, ZHA’s design adds a fourth level to the structure to incorporate public terraces with panoramic views of the Daugava River and the skyline of Riga’s city centre, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Photograph by Fernando Guerra
An enclosed interactive space spanning the River Ebro to form a gateway to the Zaragoza Expo 2008, a hybrid of pedestrian footbridge and exhibition pavilion. Four structural elements correspond to specific spatial enclosures, which intersect and brace each other. This fluid, dynamic design interprets the Expo’s theme: ‘Water and Sustainable Development.’
Photograph by Xue Liang 薛亮
Jiangxi River Bridge
The first in a series of bridges on Chengdu’s West Line Road, the new 295-metre Chengdu West First Bridge crosses the Jiangxi River, a tributary of the Tuojiang River in China’s Sichuan province.
Render by Atchain, courtesy of ZHA
The three new stations (Teatralna, Tsentralna and Muzeina) designed by ZHA will connect the residents, businesses, cultural and academic institutions in Dnipro’s eastern districts with the city centre and the Dnipro-Holovnyi railway terminus.
Courtesy of ZHA, render by Negativ
ZHA’s ‘Green Connect’ proposal for Vilnius Railway Station creates an integrated transportation hub for the 21st century with new civic spaces enveloped by nature
Photograph by Werner Huthmacher
Alpenzoo Station
‘Shell & Shadow’: a unique architectural language of fluidity inspired by natural ice formations, for stations along Innsbruck’s northern chain of mountains. Lightweight organic roof structures float on concrete plinths, their soft shapes and contours creating an artificial landscape that describes the movement and circulation within.
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
Design and construction of a third gateway crossing linking Abu Dhabi Island to the Gulf south shore. Our two-way four lane highway bridge features cantilevered road decks suspended from symmetrical steel arches, which form a sinusoidal waveform – giving this huge structure its fluid silhouette.
Photograph by Roland Halbe
Completed for the northern terminal of the city’s B tramline, our concept utilises overlapping fields: echoing the energetic movement of cars, trams, bicycles and pedestrians; fusing together to form a constantly shifting but clearly delineated whole. In the car park, floor marks and light posts delineate a ‘magnetic field’.
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
The new rail station at Napoli Afragola is designed as one of southern Italy’s key interchange stations serving four high speed inter-city lines, three inter-regional lines and a local commuter line.
Photograph by Piet Niemann
Located at Niederhafen on the Elbe River between St. Pauli Landungsbrücken and Baumwall in Hamburg, the upgraded 625m river promenade is integral to the modernisation and reinforcement of the city’s flood protection system.
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
KAFD Metro Station will serve as a key interchange on the new network for the Blue Line (Line 1) with the terminus of the Yellow Line to the airport (Line 4) and the Purple Line (Line 6) as well as a skybridge connecting to the local KAFD monorail.
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