HELION receives approval in principle for marine fuel cell
The FC-RACK fuel cell has a hydrogen safety system that allows it to be installed inside or on the deck of a vessel.
Alstom subsidiary HELION Hydrogen Power has secured approval in principle (AiP) from Bureau Veritas for its FC-RACK marine fuel cell.
The fuel cell has a double envelope enclosure, which helps it thoroughly seal in saline environments and maintain fuel cell marinization.
The FC-RACK Marine model also features a thermal management system and a dedicated onboard control system.
In addition, the fuel cell includes a hydrogen safety system that allows it to be installed either inside the vessel or on its deck.
HELION said that the cell’s vertical architecture is designed to facilitate ease of access during maintenance operations.
Work carried out on the FC-Rack cell has allowed the sixth generation of hydrogen fuel cells to adhere to Bureau Veritas’ rules, which concern the use of fuel cells on board vessels.
The industrialization of HELION’s fuel cell is also expected to help marine customers achieve their net-zero emissions goals, in addition to decarbonizing the maritime sector.
In May this year, Bureau Veritas granted AiP for Gaztransport & Technigaz’s (GTT) ballast-free liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker and feeder vessel, Shear-Water.
This came after GTT and its partner, Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, won a double AiP for a vessel from the Society China Classification Society (CCS) and DNV.
As part of Shear-Water’s construction, GTT developed a solution designed to avoid the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens when treating ballast water.
Earlier this year, Brittany Ferries announced that its LNG-driven Salamanca cruise ferry had entered classification by Bureau Veritas.
The 1,015-passenger ferry was built at China Merchants Jinling in Weihai, China, and will provide services between ports in the UK and Spain.
HELION has been a unit of France-based engineering firm Alstom since April last year.
The company was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of AREVA Energies Renouvelables, a renewable energy firm based in France.
