VANCOUVER, CANADA and PORT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) today announced that the company’s wholly-owned Denmark subsidiary – Ballard Power Systems Europe – is a member of a consortium that has received European funding to design and build HySeas III, the world’s first sea-going renewables-powered car and passenger ferry. HySeas III will operate in the Orkney Archipelago, located off the northeastern coast of Scotland.
Hydrogen will be produced from renewable electricity, and will then be used to fuel Ballard FCveloCity®-HD 100-kilowatt fuel cell power modules, which will provide zero-emission primary propulsion power for the ferry. This approach marks a paradigm shift towards entirely emissions-free marine transport. Ballard plans to supply 7 of its modules to power the ferry, with the first modules expected to be shipped in 2018. Ballard application engineering services will also focus on system integration activities.
The HySeas III consortium is led by Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited and includes the University of St. Andrews, Orkney Islands Council, Kongsberg Maritime (Norway), McPhy (France), German Aerospace Center, Interferry and Ballard Power Systems Europe.
Kristina FlØche Juelsgaard, Business Development Director at Ballard Power Systems Europe said, “We are delighted to be a member of the HySeas III consortium. Our proven fuel cell modules have set the standard for zero-emission propulsion in a range of transportation applications. And, we are now seeing a growing interest in marine applications, as this program to develop the first sea-going renewables-powered ferry demonstrates.”
Program work is scheduled to begin in July, with the first HySeas III on-shore tests planned for 2019. The European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Fund has awarded £9.3 million to support the HySeas III program.
The consortium’s media release can be found here.
About Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) provides clean energy products that reduce customer costs and risks, and helps customers solve difficult technical and business challenges in their fuel cell programs. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.
Contact: media@ballard.com