HELION Hydrogen Power awarded by H2Tec-BV to supply its hydrogen fuel cell for the RESHIP maritime project

HELION Hydrogen Power, French manufacturer of high-power fuel cells and a subsidiary of Alstom Group, has secured contract to equip the “Fortuna Crane” with its hydrogen fuel cell technology. The vessel is operated by the German shipowner OS Energy.

The company H2Tec-BV, responsible for the integration has chosen the FC-Rack from HELION Hydrogen Power. Specifically designed for the maritime sector, it generates electricity from hydrogen without polluting emissions, thus paving the way to decarbonisation of the maritime industry.

The 50 kW fuel cell will be fed with hydrogen in a safe liquid form using a disruptive carrier, the HydroSil from HSL, a world first. HELION and HSL already had the opportunity to work together and are looking forward working on this new collaborative project. The fuel cell / HydroSil combination aims at reducing the space required for onboard storage by two in comparison with standard gaseous solutions.

This unique vessel will also incorporate highly efficient propellers to reduce the size of the buffer storage and thus contributing to overcome this technical challenge.

‘Through this demonstrator we intend to showcase our technological advancement by testing the compatibility of our fuel cells with liquid hydrogen carriers. Once retrofitted, this vessel will be a pioneer of its kind, addressing the high-power challenge of the maritime industry and proving the relevance of fuel cell technology for this sector”, says Vincent MAHEO, President of HELION Hydrogen Power.

The FC-Rack TM Marine is expected to be installed onboard the FORTUNA CRANE by the end of 2024.

RESHIP program: a driving project for the transition to a cleaner maritime sector This project is part of the RESHIP program, led by an Anglo-European consortium made up of 74 industrial, maritime and academic partners. Its objective is to improve the performance and energy efficiency of ships while addressing the onboard hydrogen storage challenge.
It will also ensure compliance with maritime safety standards through collaboration with Bureau Veritas, the Danish maritime authorities and the port of ESBJERG, in Denmark.
In addition to this contract, HELION Hydrogen Power is delivering a 200kW fuel cell for the world’s first hydrogen hybrid dredger, HyDrOMer, with a double approval from the certification bodies Bureau Veritas and RINA.

Production based on a single, modular product, suitable for various applications Since the announcement of an investment of nearly 6 M€ (in December 2027), HELION Hydrogen Power has the capacity to manufacture its own fuel cell stacks at its Aix-en­ Provence site (in the South of France). The company has also developed a subsystem based on a simplified and modular architecture that can be reproduced in series. This standardised brick, called FC-Rack™, is composed of 4 stacks and can deliver an electrical power ranging from 700 to 200 kW.