Ballard to establish fuel cell Center of Excellence in Europe

VANCOUVER — Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S – is establishing a Marine Center of Excellence (Marine CoE) dedicated to fuel cell marine applications at the company’s engineering, manufacturing and service facility in Hobro, Denmark.

The subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems Inc., the Vancouver developer of hydrogen fuel cell technology, said the Marine CoE will design and manufacture heavy duty fuel cell modules to address zero-emission powertrain requirements for the marine industry.

A new motive fuel cell system manufacturing hall is to be operational at by the end of the year, with an annual production capacity of more than 15 megawatts (MW) of fuel cell modules.

Development work will be based on Ballard’s new FCgen-LCS fuel cell stack and next-generation heavy duty power module, which are planned for commercial launch later this year, and will be designed to meet European marine certification requirements.

Ballard noted he reduction of pollutants and carbon emissions is a high priority for the marine industry and port cities.

“Regulations to restrict diesel emissions are being introduced at the local and regional levels in various parts of the world, and this is generating interest in zero-emission fuel cell technology,” it said in a release.

In 2018 the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, including a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050 (compared to the 2008 level), and complete elimination of emissions as soon as possible in this century.

The IMO has estimated that 1.135 billion tonnes of CO2 were emitted by ships in 2008, representing 3.5% of the global total that year.