Corvus Energy has been selected to lead an IPN project – a program funded by the Research Council of Norway with the aim to improve operations of hydrogen-driven marine vessels in order to reduce costs and extend the lifetime of both the hydrogen fuel cells and the batteries in hybrid configurations.

Corvus Energy joined forces with research institute NORCE and other partners for the project, titled “Optimized Hydrogen Powered Maritime Mobility” or “OptHyMob” for short which has been awarded 13,9 million NOK in funding.

This industrial project builds on the ongoing H2NOR project, funded in part by Innovation Norway, where Corvus Energy and partners will develop, demonstrate and certify the inherently gas-safe modularized maritime PEM-based FC system based on technology from world leader Toyota.

"The lifetime of current fuel cell installations and high cost of hydrogen are barriers for upscaling the hydrogen-driven vessel. By solving this we can accelerate decarbonization of shipping.” said Svenn Kjetil Haveland, Vice President of Development Projects at Corvus Energy

“The knowledge gained, as well as the models and systems developed through the OptHyMob project, will enable cost-effective use of hybrid fuel cell-battery systems applied for ship propulsion.” explained Haveland.

Through increased efficiency, and extended lifetime of the systems, the total cost of ownership will be reduced. which is essential to the maritime industry’s progress toward zero-emission fuels.

As explained, the power usage and hence the vessel’s energy consumption will vary a lot for different operational modes, such as acceleration and transit, and also depend upon weather conditions and waves etc. In addition, the hydrogen consumption in a fuel cell system will vary depending on how the system is operated.

Source: Safety4sea

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	Issue 80 of Robban Assafina (July/ Aug. 2022)