Ballard Power Systems – Demonstrating marine fuel cells powered by liquid hydrogen.
The partners in the LH2 vessel demonstration project, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Aalborg University – Department of Energy, Danish Gas Technology Centre (DGC), Man Cryo and Odense Maritime Technology A/S (OMT), have together with Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS), a global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment for energy and industrial gas markets, successfully completed a series of performance and functionality demonstrations of a 200kW fuel cell module using liquid hydrogen as the fuel source from a Chart liquid onboard hydrogen (“HLH2”) vehicle fuel system.
The module used for testing was Ballard’s DNV type approved fuel cell, FCwaveTM, which has been designed for, and together, with the marine industry. The demonstration proves that heavy-duty applications such as marine vessels powered by Ballard fuel cells will be able to effectively employ Chart liquid hydrogen systems as a fuel.
Liquid hydrogen has a significant space, weight and range advantage compared with gaseous hydrogen -allowing up to double the range without space claims and payload impacts – and offers a simplified fueling infrastructure for heavy-duty mobility applications such as marine, trucks, buses, and rail.
The series of tests was conducted at Chart’s Liquid Hydrogen Test facility in New Prague, Minnesota, U.S.A, and overseen by a team of test and design engineers from Ballard’s Marine Centre of Excellence in Denmark.
The data gathered will be presented in a project deliverable for the LH2 Vessel project funded by the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP).
Peter Blach, System Designer, Ballard, said:
During testing at Chart, we had the pleasure of demonstrating the seamless integration between Chart’s liquid hydrogen storage and vaporizer system and Ballard’s 200kW FCwaveTM module.
“The combination integrated extremely well with the lower inlet pressure of the fuel cell module, allowing efficient distribution of the hydrogen without the need for costly booster pumps or accumulators. During our extended full power runs in challenging environmental conditions, there were no faults from the module or the hydrogen storage system”.
Further paving the way for zero-emission power, these tests show the efficiency of liquid hydrogen as a fuel source and the expanding reach and potential of hydrogen fuel cells as an energy source.
John Messeder, Chart Industries H2 Test Site Manager, said:
We successfully demonstrated smooth operation of Ballard’s fuel cell system supplied by Charts’ liquid hydrogen supply system.
“It was impressive to witness firsthand the FCwaveTM creating clean, efficient electricity from our hydrogen source.”
The next milestone will be to identify applications in which liquid hydrogen has the potential to unlock long distance opportunities, within marine, truck, coach bus, off-road, and rail. Chart and Ballard will work to identify potential future demonstration projects for marine, in addition to the aforementioned heavy-duty applications.
Chart Industries, Inc. is a leading independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment servicing multiple applications in the Energy and Industrial Gas markets. Chart’s unique product portfolio is used in every phase of the liquid gas supply chain, including upfront engineering, service and repair.
Being at the forefront of the clean energy transition, Chart is a leading provider of technology, equipment and services related to liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biogas and CO2 Capture amongst other applications. We are committed to excellence in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues both for our company as well as our customers.
With over 25 global locations from the United States to Asia, Australia, India, Europe and South America, we maintain accountability and transparency to our team members, suppliers, customers and communities. To learn more, visit www.chartindustries.com
Partners in the LH2 Vessel project
Ballard Power Systems’ vision is to deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable planet. Ballard zero-emission PEM fuel cells are enabling electrification of mobility, including buses, commercial trucks, trains, marine vessels, passenger cars and forklift trucks. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.
AAU Energy is fully dedicated to research, innovation and education within the broad field of energy. AAU strive for excellence and impact in what we do, by establishing strong, collaborative partnerships with industrial and academic stakeholders within the field and engaging in the public debate concerning one of the major challenges of our time: the green transition.
DGC is a specialized consulting and development company within energy and environment. DGC’s main focus area is gas utilization. DGC offers consulting services, research and development, laboratory testing, measurement, demonstration projects, and training.
Since 1953 MAN Energy Solutions Sweden has serviced the marine industry in Sweden with project-and technical support as well as spare parts. From May 2008 we also offer technical service of marine engines under the worldwide brand of MAN PrimeServ.
With our workshop and professional expertise, we provide service for all sizes of engines, ranging from the smallest MAN High speed engine to the largest Low speed engine. In 2016 MAN Energy Solutions acquired Cryo AB which was merged into the Swedish MAN Energy Solutions organization and are offering a wide range of cryogenic fuel solutions to the global market.
Odense Maritime Technology (OMT) is the premium maritime consulting firm in Europe. HOW to deliver affordable maritime defense while creating jobs in buyer’s countries is our focus.
OMT group was established in 2010 as a carve-out from the A.P. Moller – Maersk shipyard in Denmark / Odense Steel Shipyard. We strive to deliver maritime footprints in every country we operate in. We operate through Odense Maritime Technology A/S (focusing on advisory services) and OMT Naval Aps (focusing on maritime designs and IP development).
Funding Partner
The LH2Vessel project has received 8.33 mio. DKK in funding from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP).
Demonstrating marine fuel cells powered by liquid hydrogen, October 13, 2022