Corvus Energy gas safe marine fuel cell system awarded AiP by DNV
The Corvus Energy Hydrogen Fuel Cell System developed through the H2NOR project has received Approval in Principle (AiP) by DNV for its groundbreaking safety solution enabling simplified placement of the system inside a ship’s hull. This is the first fuel cell system (FCS) designed to be inherently gas safe meaning that the surrounding machinery space will be considered gas safe under all conditions. This design significantly reduces the number of requirements for the safety and ventilation support systems, thereby enabling a more efficient integration onboard the ship.
The building block of the FCS is a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell module supplied by the world leading fuel cell manufacturer, Toyota, ensuring top quality,safety and market availability for the system.
The Corvus Fuel Cell System can serve as the main power source or as an additional power source to increase fuel flexibility onboard. With water being the only exhaust, the Corvus Fuel Cell will allow a ship to operate in any harbor and protected area today and in the future.
The solution is being developed by the H2NOR project, a consortium coordinated by Corvus together with partners Toyota Motor Europe, 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). The project will develop and produce modularized and cost-effective PEM fuel cell systems for the international marine market. The project has received EUR 5.9 m in funding from state agency Innovation Norway and The Research Council of Norway, bolstering Corvus’ front-runner position in clean technology.
H2NOR is scheduled to showcase its first marine fuel cell system onboard sailings pilots in 2023, which will take place alongside marine type approval of the product. The product will be commercially available from 2024, resulting in the expansion of the Corvus factories that will manufacture world-leading marine battery and fuel cell systems for all types of commercial marine vessels.