Ballard Power Advances Development of Marine Fuel Cells

Vancouver, Canada and West Perth, Australia - The fuel cell system for powering ships, unveiled by Ballard Power last year, is to be used in a MW-scale pilot project. The plan is to develop a fuel cell-powered ship for transporting compressed green hydrogen. Ballard Power's project partner is the Australian company Global Energy Ventures.

Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Global Energy Ventures (GEV) in the field of fuel cell-based shipping. Global Energy Ventures is a provider of energy transportation solutions to regional markets headquartered in Australia. The company is developing a new fuel cell-powered vessel, called C-H2-Ship, designed to transport compressed green hydrogen.

Under the collaboration, GEV will be responsible for the design approval, development, financing and operation of the C-H2 transport vessel, as well as the integration of the fuel cell-based energy system. Ballard is responsible for the design of the fuel cell system, which is based on FCwaveTM technology launched in the market last September. The fuel cell manufacturer will also assist GEV in integrating the fuel cell system into the ship design. Ballard's FCwaveTM system will obtain the hydrogen needed for propulsion from compressed green hydrogen stored onboard and transported by the ship.

The power required for a small-scale demonstration of the C-H2 Ship is expected to be less than 10 megawatts (MW). At full scale, the C-H2 Ship is expected to have a propulsion capacity of approximately 26 MW and a containment system to store 2,000 tons of compressed green hydrogen.

Rob Campbell, Ballard's chief commercial officer, welcomes the completion of the MoU and anticipates that the collaboration with GEV will enable Ballard to advance the integration of megawatt-scale fuel cells and hydrogen storage in the marine industry. " We are looking forward to collaborating with GEV on the visionary C-H2 Ship", Campbell said.

Ballard CCO sees great potential for decarbonization of maritime sector. Ballard Power introduced the FCwave TM fuel cell module, designed for marine applications, to the market last September. Ballard's FCwaveTM fuel cell system is a 200-kilowatt (kW) modular unit that can be scaled in series to the multi-megawatt (MW) power level. The fuel cell module provides primary propulsion power for vessels - such as passenger and car ferries, river push boats and fishing boats. With this fuel cell product, Ballard Power is also delivering stationary electric power solutions to support hotel and auxiliary loads on cruise ships, as well as other vessels while in port.

"Hydrogen and fuel cell technology provide a compelling path for the decarbonization of the maritime sector, one of the key Medium- and Heavy-Duty Motive applications for which our products offer a particularly strong value proposition", Campbell said of the use of fuel cells in marine applications.

Ballard stock price rises

Ballard Power shares rose 4.2 percent to 32.01 euros in yesterday's trading (04-02-2021), Stuttgart Stock Exchange). The company was thus the best-performing company in the RENIXX World regenerative share index. In today's trading, the share price has so far climbed 2.3 percent to 32.76 euros (05-02-2021, 09:43 am, Stuttgart Stock Exchange). Since the beginning of the year, the Ballard share has thus gained around 80 percent.

Source: IWR Online, 05 Feb 2021