In June, Corvus Energy announced that the Corvus Pelican Fuel Cell System (FCS) “combines well-proven fuel cell technology from world leader, Toyota, with an inherently gas safe design, making it one of the safest and most advanced marine fuel cell systems ever developed… Built to be the perfect range extender for near-shore and short-sea vessels, the Corvus Pelican Fuel Cell System enables vessels to sustain zero-emission operations for longer periods of time than would be possible using battery power alone.
Corvus says that vessels that can charge often or have enough energy storage capacity to achieve zero-emission operations using only batteries but “for other vessels, the range of zero-emission operations can be extended by adding green fuels and a fuel cell system.”

As a result, Corvus said that marine fuel cell systems, used in combination with battery energy storage and a green fuel source such as hydrogen, can: “extend the period that vessels can operate at zero-emission levels without refueling or recharging. When used with hydrogen, water is the only system exhaust, perfect for operations in emissions-restricted harbors and protected areas.”

One industry executive told AJOT that cruise ships will be a market for fuel cells. The ships can avoid battery charging installations when they deploy hydrogen fuel tanks to power the fuel cell technology. Also, cruise ships that can operate on zero emissions will be able to do so in ports where the move to zero emissions is on the rise, and in places such as the Norwegian fjords where zero emission transits will be required after 2026.

Applications

The Corvus Pelican FCS is ideal for zero-emission operations onboard ships that go on routes where hydrogen supply is available. The system can serve as a main power source or an additional power source. Typical vessel-types that could deploy the new system are:

  • Container feeder vessels,
  • Service operation vessels
  • Platform supply vessels
  • Ro/Ro-Ro/Pax
  • Ferries
  • Tugboats
  • Smaller cruise vessels
  • Coastal/ regional transport

The product launch for the Pelican Fuel Cell System took place in June during the Nor-Shipping exhibition in Norway where Geir Bjørkeli, CEO of Corvus Energy explained: “Our mission is to power a clean future, and through the years, we have been pioneers on a lot of different vessel types. However, batteries cannot take us all the way. If you want to sail zero-emission, you will need to bring clean energy in a different format. We strongly believe hydrogen is the natural choice for shorter and medium-distance routes as this is the most energy-efficient way. The safety level, as well as the flexibility and modular design, will revolutionize marine power going forward.”

He added: “We really need to thank Toyota and the other partners for their strong contribution – we would never have been able to take such an advanced product to the market this quickly without this strong consortium.”

Stina Kvale Bergesen, Technical Sales Engineer, Corvus Energy spoke to AJOT when Corvus introduced the fuel cell technology at the Electric and Hybrid Marine Expo in Amsterdam on June 20th.

Bergesen described the partnership between Corvus and Toyota: “The interaction with Toyota started in 2021 when Toyota reached out to Corvus... They needed … a way into the marine markets and Corvus is known for their batteries and Toyota wanted to take the … onshore technology and make (it) adaptable for marine applications. … Toyota has been doing this for 30 years. They have a proven technology.”

Bergesen said the hydrogen fuel cell technology can be used as a means to charge batteries without requiring a land-based charging system: “The fueling technology will be faster than charging technology.”

Bergesen projects that commercial deliveries will be available within two years: “We can have deliveries at the start of 2025.”