Amogy purchase Ballard fuel cell engines for ammonia-powered maritime applications

Amogy’s proprietary ammonia-to-power platform relies on ammonia cracking technology, facilitating the extraction of hydrogen onboard for fuel in a hydrogen engine.

Amogy purchase Ballard fuel cell engines for ammonia-powered maritime applications

Amogy has announced the signing of a contract to purchase fuel cell engines from Ballard Power Systems for ammonia-to-power maritime applications. 

Ballard’s FCwaveTM engine is a scalable fuel cell system certified for operation in marine environments. Amogy’s proprietary ammonia-to-power platform relies on unique ammonia cracking technology, facilitating the extraction of hydrogen onboard for fuel in a hydrogen engine. Amogy’s platform was successfully demonstrated in several industrial applications. The Amogy team is currently scaling the technology for use in maritime vessels, with plans for a tank barge and tugboat operations.

Under this contract, Amogy agrees to purchase an initial order of three, 200kW FCwaveTM engines and Ballard will support integration of the fuel cell engines with Amogy’s proprietary ammonia reforming system. Ballard will deliver the initial FCwave engines to Amogy in 2023 for maritime deployment. A follow-on order for an additional seven FCwaveTM engines is expected upon successful completion of the initial projects.

Seonghoon Woo, Chief Executive Officer at Amogy, said:

“This contract and collaboration opportunity with Ballard is a significant and valuable step as Amogy expands its efforts in the maritime sector. With access to their leading fuel cell technology and team of experts, together we can expedite commercialization of scalable, ammonia-to-power solutions for the maritime industry and support global sustainability goals.”

The International Maritime Organization has adopted ambitious emissions-reduction targets, including a goal to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of global fleets 40% by 2030 and pursue efforts towards 70% by 2050, compared to 2008 levels. To achieve these goals, commercially viable zero-emissions vessels must begin entering global fleets. With many promising maritime applications for hydrogen fuel involving ammonia as a carrier of hydrogen, partnerships like the one between Amogy and Ballard have tremendous potential to demonstrate ammonia power platforms in real-world maritime use-cases.

Søren Østergaard Hansen, General Manager, Marine and Stationary, Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S, said:

“We are excited for the opportunity to work with Amogy and bring our clean and innovative technologies together. We believe Amogy’s onboard capabilities to convert ammonia to gaseous hydrogen combined with our fuel cell engines will be a major milestone to achieve decarbonization in the marine sector.”