Havyard, PowerCell to Develop Zero-Emissions Fuel Cell System

Norwegian Havyard Group and PowerCell Sweden have teamed up on the development of the design and the technical specifications for a zero-emissions fuel cell system.

The parties signed a one-year development contract for a zero emissions system fully classifiable and in conformity with IMO maritime safety requirements, that will be based on several marinized 200-kW fuel cell system modules connected in parallel with a total power of 3.2 megawatts.

According to Havyard and PowerCell, the system may come to be installed on board a vessel that will service the shipping company Havila Kystruten’s new route from Bergen to Kirkenes, where increasingly strict emissions regulations will be introduced in the coming years.

Havila Kystruten is building four new ships which will be equipped with zero emission solutions. The first of the four ships will be taken into operation in 2021.

“Fuel cells provide an optimal solution for this type of maritime applications and is perfect for use in combination with battery solutions,” Per Wassén, CEO of PowerCell, said.

“These vessels have the space available for storage of hydrogen and can easily be refueled during one of their many stops. When entering the fjords, they can operate fully electric for a long time with no other emissions than water.”

The intense traffic in and out of the Norwegian fjords has resulted in a huge increase in local emissions and at times the emission levels have been reported to exceed those of major cities like London and Barcelona. Several of the Norwegian fjords have been recognized by United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization, UNESCO, as world heritage sites, a recognition they risk losing due to the high emission levels.

To counter this, Norway has introduced increasingly strict emission regulations for ships operating in the fjords and by 2026 only ships with zero emission solutions will be allowed entrance.