Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S ZAS0020

Written evidence submitted by Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S

1.    About Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S

Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S is recognized as one of the leading players in the commercial application of fuel cell power solutions. Founded in January 2007, Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ballard Power Inc. Headquartered in Hobro, Denmark, activities are focused on three key business areas:

• Heavy duty mobility (bus, truck, marine and rail)
• Critical Infrastructure (back-up power solution)
• European Service Centre

Ballard have been the primary supplier of hydrogen fuel cell modules for previous fuel cell electric bus demonstrations in the UK.

2.    Contents

Contents

Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S

1.              About Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S

2.              Contents

3.              Introduction

4.              Hydrogen Technology in Transport

5.              Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Zero Emission Marine Vessels

6.              Are Hydrogen Fuel Cells Available and Close to Commercialisation

7.              Early Applications

8.              Areas Requiring Further Analysis

9.              Marine Examples Already Using Hydrogen Fuel Cells

10.              Conclusion

11.              Notes and References

3.    Introduction

Global shipping is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, creating 2.2% of CO2 per year, 15% of NOX per year and 13% of SOX per year.  If shipping were a country, it would be the 6th largest producer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (Ref1)

To combat the effect of shipping on GHG emissions, requirements for lowering GHG in the marine industry are already being set by various organisations and governments.  The International Marine Organization (IMO) wants to phase out GHG emissions by 50% by 2050, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is to cut CO2 by 50% by 2050 and Norway protecting fjords has a very ambitious target of being 100% zero emission by 2026. (Ref2) (Ref3) (Ref4)

4.    Hydrogen Technology in Transport

Hydrogen has been used in heavy duty transport for a number of years, there have been numerous bus trials and demonstrations and now hydrogen fuel cell is being utilised in other heavy duty sectors including truck rail and marine.

5.    Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Zero Emission Marine Vessels

Hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells will play a major part in the marine industry addressing GHG emissions.  As with other forms of heavy duty transport, fuel cells offer for the marine industry:

• A longer range – fuel cell powered vessels can run longer and travel further before refuelling compared to other zero emission marine options.
• Fast and flexible refuelling – rapid refuelling of hydrogen fuelled vessels can take place in minutes especially if liquid hydrogen is used.
• Scalability and modularity – hydrogen fuel cells offer flexible configurations that can adapt to vessel space constraints.  Fuel cell modules can be deployed in parallel, in detachable configurations, to meet the variable power requirements of different vessels.
• Stable and reliable power – Fuel cells have a long service life and required little maintenance, therefore lowering maintenance costs.

6.    Are Hydrogen Fuel Cells Available and Close to Commercialisation

Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S already produces a 200kW, highly scalable, hydrogen fuel cell module, the FCwaveTM.  The design of this product has been made with safety in mind.  The product has been designed for ease of integration by being installed in a clean-lined cabinet with easy access doors that have all interfaces accessible from the front door for service and maintenance.  So that all the connections to the module can be made below floor level, the connections are situated at the bottom of the system.

The system would be integrated on a ship in a ‘hybrid’ configuration, similar to a heavy duty bus, where the energy storage system (ESS), normally batteries, can cope with any peak demands of power.

Alongside the development of the FCwaveTM, Ballard have established the Marine Center of Excellence that is dedicated to the engineering, manufacturing and service of the heavy duty fuel cell modules for the marine industry.

7.     Early Applications

Shipping and marine are a vast industry with vessels ranging from small inland waterway vessels to large ocean going ships.  Early applications for fuel cell modules are already taking place.  The types of vessels that are suited to early applications include ferries, push boats, tugs and offshore vessels, fishing vessels and auxiliary loads on cruise ships.

8.    Areas Requiring Further Analysis

The biggest issue facing hydrogen being used as a fuel in marine vessels is the storage requirements.  There are currently four main storage methods:

• Gaseous hydrogen – seen on heavy duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on shore, gaseous hydrogen is normally stored at 35MPa, so the storage vessel has to be able to withstand both the hydrogen and the pressure of the gas.  This technology is well developed but requires further thought as to how to enable a vessel to have enough fuel and to be stored safely.
• Liquid hydrogen – being more dense that gaseous hydrogen there is the advantage of not requiring so much space for fuel storage, however, liquid hydrogen is cryogenic so has to held at -253⁰C.  Again, in a marine vessel this is possible, but thought has to go into the added safety hazards around this.
• Ammonia – Hydrogen can be stored in ammonia, then ‘cracked’ onboard to split the hydrogen form the nitrogen. There is already a good worldwide supply chain around ammonia but using this technology would add another process in the system and has not been tested at the practical scale that a large vessel would demand.
• Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) – a developing technology where organic compounds can absorb hydrogen, be stored, transported safely, then the hydrogen is released for use.  This is done using a chemical reaction.

9.    Marine Examples Already Using Hydrogen Fuel Cells

There are a number of project that Ballard is involved in using hydrogen fuel cells, these include:

• Hyseas III – the world’s first sea going renewables-powered ferry. (Ref5)
• H2PORTS – a project to facilitate hydrogen power at Europe’s ports. (Ref6)
• FLAGSHIPS – this project features two different types of boats, a ferry in Norway and a river push boat in France. (Ref7)
• Hjelmeland ferry project – again in Norway. (Ref8)
• ELEKTRA – to power, using fuel cells, river barges in Germany. (Ref9)

10.                   Conclusion

In conclusion, hydrogen fuel cells are a viable technology that is already ready for powering marine vessels, especially smaller vessels.  For larger vessels the technology is proven, but the large fuel carrying requirements are still developing.

11.                   Notes and References

(Ref1)              https://europe.oceana.org/en/shipping-pollution-1

(Ref2)              https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Cutting-GHG-emissions.aspx

(Ref3)              http://www.emsa.europa.eu/air-pollution/greenhouse-gases.html

(Ref4)              https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1824

(Ref5)              https://www.hyseas3.eu/

(Ref6)              https://h2ports.eu/

(Ref7)              https://flagships.eu/

(Ref8)              https://blog.ballard.com/fuel-cell-marine-projects

(Ref9)              https://www.marsys.tu-berlin.de/menue/forschung/elektra_2/

September 2021