Corvus Energy (earlier post) will start development and production of sustainable, large-scale maritime-certified hydrogen fuel cell systems. Production will be located in Bergen, Norway with Toyota onboard as key partner and supplier of mass-produced fuel cell technology.

Corvus is spearheading a collaboration with Norwegian partners Equinor, shipowners Norled and Wilhelmsen, ship design company LMG Marin, the NCE Maritime CleanTech cluster and R&D institution the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) to develop and produce modularized and cost-effective PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell systems for the international marine market.

The project has received €5.2 million in funding from state agency Innovation Norway bolstering Corvus’ front-runner position in clean technology for maritime and other sectors. The development is scheduled to showcase its first marine fuel cell system onboard a vessel in 2023 and the product will be marine certified and available for commercial delivery from 2024.

The initiative combines Norwegian maritime expertise together with fuel cell modules supplied by one of the world’s largest fuel cell producers Toyota, which has 30 years’ experience in the development and production of fuel cells for the car market and other land-based applications. Corvus and Toyota signed a partnership on 18 December 2020.

The agreement secures Corvus access to proven fuel cell technology while enabling large-scale production and competitive pricing. The production will be Norway’s first of its kind, strengthening the country’s pole position in the global efforts towards decarbonizing shipping.

Interest in hydrogen for maritime applications has been increasing rapidly, with hydrogen power seen as an important step to reach shipping’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. Reducing the cost of fuel cells and increasing access to the technology is crucial to accelerate the transition.

The initiative represents an important step towards achieving both goals by producing modularized systems not available on a large scale today.

Corvus’ new dedicated fuel cell division will design and certify the marine fuel cell system using the Toyota fuel cell technology as a building block for larger systems. Furthermore, a specific marine control system uniting the battery and fuel cell operation will be developed for easy integration with power management systems from a range of system integrators.

Backed by strong owners in the form of Norsk Hydro, Equinor, Shell and BW Group, Corvus plans to scale up production to mirror its position in battery systems. The development partners USN and NCE Maritime CleanTech will contribute knowledge within hydrogen safety, while Equinor, Norled, Wilhelmsen and LMG Marin will bring key experience from ongoing hydrogen projects.

Corvus Energy is the leading supplier of energy storage solutions in the form of modular lithium-ion battery systems for marine, oil and gas and port applications. Its purpose-built, field-proven battery systems provide sustained power to hybrid and all-electric heavy industrial equipment, including large marine propulsion drives. Corvus Energy has amassed unsurpassed experience from 400+ projects, totaling more than 300 MWh and more than 3 million operating hours.