TECO 2030 produces first PEM fuel cell stack at Narvik plant

Norway-based TECO 2030 has finished the produced the first 100 kW (kilowatt) Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack at its Narvik manufacturing facility in Norway.

PHOTO: Inside TECO 2030's hydrogen-based fuel cell production facility in Narvik, Norway. Twitter of @TECO_2030

The fuel cell stack is “purposely developed” for "energy-intensive" sectors like marine shipping and others, said its chief executive Tore Enger.

Last September, Enger told ENGINE that hydrogen-fuel cells would be first be made to power ships while they are loading or unloading cargo in port, and on shorter voyages along coasts or between larger cities. However, fuel cell technology is only set to properly mature to power larger 30,000-50,000 dwt ships by 2028 at the earliest, he argued.

TECO 2030 intends to test the fuel cell stack's output and variable capacity in land-based applications by the end of this year. Infrastructure contractor Implenia Norway will install the fuel cells in a 20-foot container to supply renewable power to construction sites.

It will then construct an identical fuel cell stack to be used by ships and in for other marine applications as part of the Horizon Europe HyEkoTank project next year.

The “HyEkoTank” is a joint project between TECO 2030, oil and gas major Shell, Swedish shipping company Ektank and shipping classification society DNV. It received a €5 million ($5.4 million) grant under the EU's Horizon Europe scheme.

HyEkoTank aims to retrofit existing vessels with zero-emission hydrogen-based propulsion and power-generation systems in 2024.

By Konica Bhatt

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