Ballard Power Systems, the world’s leading clean energy fuel cell solutions provider, announced the launch of a module that is designed for primary propulsion in marine vessels. It is reported that this is the fuel cell industry’s first module. The FCwaveTM fuel cell product of Ballard is a 200kW modular unit that can ascend to a multi-megawatt power level.

The FCwaveTM module provides primary propulsion power for various marine vessels including passenger car ferries, fishing boats, and river push boats. It also provides stationary electric power to back auxiliary loads and hotels on cruise ships and other marine vessels while they are docked at port.

The Chief Commercial Officer of Ballard, Rob Campbell, stated that the company’s primary focus is Heavy and Medium-Duty Motive applications, especially where the needs include extended range, heavy payload, and rapid fueling. He called this a sweet spot for their fuel cell value proposition which is supported by an operation experience of 50 million kilometers in thousands of vehicles. These same requirements reinforce use cases in the maritime industry that create an important market opportunity that can be efficiently addressed by the new FCwaveTM product. Commercial maritime activities are conducted across the globe to decarbonize where Ballard aims to lead in zero-emission fuel cell solutions, Rob confirmed.

For reducing carbon emission in marine vessels, fuel cells provide zero-emission solutions. The FCwaveTM product by Ballard is designed to leverage the technology and important components of the company that has already proven in present product application to make sure that it can endure the severities of marine applications while meeting the safety requirements and performances.

With over 30,000 lifetime operating hours, FCwaveTM is leading the industry in the durability segment. The product would weigh only 4.4 kilograms/kW and work with over 55% efficiency. Along with various compelling benefits, FCwaveTM is a proven service model that is safe for operation and provides reliable performance.

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ballard-introduces-fuel-cell-industrys-first-commercial-zero-emission-module-to-power-ships-301125226.html#:~:text=Mens%20Interest-,Ballard%20Introduces%20Fuel%20Cell%20Industrys%20First%20Commercial,Emission%20Module%20to%20Power%20Ships&text=Ballard%20Power%20Systems%20Inc.&text=Ballards%20F