CORVUS TO DEVELOP PEM FC SYSTEMS WITH TOYOTA STACKS
Toyota and Corvus Energy have announced plans to develop hydrogen fuel-cell systems, with the intention of making maritime-certified fuel cell systems commercially available by 2024.
The development project has received EUR 5.2m in funding from state agency Innovation Norway, and also includes energy major 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).
Many of the project collaborators are also participating in the Topeka PEMFC-powered Ro-Ro demonstration project, as part of a wider Norwegian project to develop hydrogen supply chains along the Norwegian coast.
“Adding fuel-cell modules to our product portfolio is a natural step for Corvus and advances our vision to be the leading supplier of zero-emission marine solutions. Fuel-cell technology has reached a maturity level where scale-up of systems will be the next step. Toyota is in the forefront of the development and is by far the best partner for us to make this a success,” said Corvus Energy CEO Geir Bjørkeli.
LT PEMFC system
The development project’s first target is install a LT PEMFC marine fuel-cell system onboard a vessel in 2023. This is intended to be succeeded by the delivery of a first Corvus type-approved PEM fuel cell system by 2024.
Corvus intends to follow a modular approach, developing a scalable product that can be produced in large volumes, in its fuel cell development.
“We will ensure that the first system solution provided in this partnership will be scalable for vessels requiring everything from 200-300kW to 10,000+ kW of installed power,” Corvus’ Project Director, Kristian Holmefjord told The Motorship.
Toyota will supply both the individual LT PEM fuel cells, and the LT PEM fuel cell stacks, along with the fuel cell controls as a modular solution. Corvus will supply a fuel cell system to operators, including a unified marine control system covering both battery and fuel-cell operation.
Corvus is also identifying alternative solutions, as there is no “one size/type/FC-chemistry fits all” for marine and other fuel cell solutions might be better suited to larger vessel requirements.
The company already has an objective to develop a second fuel cell system solution, drawing on alternative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) or High Temperature PEM FC technologies by 2025.
The SOFC technology offers opportunities in the deep-sea market, as the fuel cell can operate on lower-purity hydrogen or other fuels, such as ammonia or LNG, unlike Toyota’s LT PEMFC technology. “The space requirements of hydrogen storage aboard deep-sea vessels remain an obstacle to the use of compressed hydrogen at present,” Bjørkeli commented.
FC system assembly hub
As part of the announcement, Corvus confirmed that it plans to establish a production hub producing commercial marine LT PEM fuel cell systems at scale in Bergen.
The production centre will be eventually oriented towards both the export and domestic Norwegian markets although initial demand is expected to come from the domestic Norwegian market.
“As fuel-cell technology has reached a maturity level where the scaling-up of systems will be the next step, a key advantage to partnering with Toyota was the ability to move straight to industrial production to scale up,” said Corvus Energy CEO Geir Bjørkeli. “Toyota is at the forefront of the development and is by far the best partner for us to make this a success,” Geir Bjørkeli added.
While Toyota has a comparatively short history in the marine market, and only announced plans to develop fuel cells for marine applications in 2020, it has a long track record in developing fuel cells for the passenger vehicle market. It is also the largest manufacturer of LT PEM fuel cells in the world, in what remains a comparatively small market. Sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEV) in 2020 were below 10,000 units globally.
The ramp up of production of Toyota’s LT PEMFC stacks at Toyota’s manufacturing site in Honsha in Toyota City in Japan from 3,000 units to 30,000 units per year, was also expected to lead to significant economies of scale.
Toyota launched a second generation of its LT PEMFC stack technology for the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell passenger automobile in Japan in December 2020. Compared with the preceding generation of LT PEMFC stack, the Gen 2 stack achieved weight savings, production cost efficiencies and also increased power density, Freddy Bergsma, Senior Manager Strategy and Business Development, Fuel Cell Business Group, Toyota Motor Europe confirmed.
Concurrently, further advances in LT PEMFC technology were planned, which were likely to build on recent improvements. Plans to develop a Gen 3 stack were already underway.
In other words, the agreement secures Corvus access to proven fuel-cell technology while enabling large-scale production and competitive pricing, Corvus CCO Halvard Hauso said.
New business unit for Corvus Energy
As part of the project, Corvus is intending to develop a world leading maritime fuel cell centre in Bergen. Corvus Energy’s Project Director, Kristian Holmefjord, told The Motorship that the initial team will number about 20 dedicated roles, while drawing on the company’s engineering expertise from its R&D facilities in Porsgrunn, Norway and Vancouver, Canada.
One of the key aspects of the project will be to develop a series of optimised solutions for customers, drawing on Corvus’ extensive experience of the operation of battery systems aboard vessels, as well as Toyota Motor Europe’s insight into the PEM FC modules.
“The optimisation here is crucial and a big differentiator in the market. We will strive to make the best solution for our customers, not strive to only supply batteries or only supply fuel cells,” Holmefjord said.
Finally, Holmefjord added that Corvus did not have any plans to enter the hydrogen storage system production or delivery space, or to become involved in compressed or liquid hydrogen (LH2) production or supply chains.
The Motorship notes other companies within the development consortium have expertise in those areas: Equinor is currently developing a LH2 production facility at Mongstad near Bergen, while Norled and LMG Marin are participating in a project to develop an LH2-fuelled ferry.