Ballard Power Systems has received an order for a fuel cell system from CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco. The system will be integrated in the 759 MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind project, located off the coast of the Netherlands.
CrossWind intends to use various new technologies to manage the intermittent wind power generation, including the use of water electrolysis to convert wind power into green hydrogen for energy storage. Ballard’s hydrogen fuel cells will utilize the green hydrogen as fuel to regenerate stable and dispatchable power.
Ballard will supply a containerized fuel cell power solution with a peak power capacity of 1 MW, with delivery expected in 2024. This is Ballard’s second stationary power project deployed in Europe for peak shaving power generation applications.
“Hydrogen plays a critical role to support the energy transition,” says Søren Østergaard Hansen, general manager of marine and stationary at Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S. “This project is an exciting proof point on how hydrogen and PEM fuel cells can provide an effective storage, load-following and firming solution for intermittent renewables. We are excited to be a part of this milestone demonstration project with CrossWind to prove out the reliability and efficiency of Ballard fuel cells, initially at megawatt scale.”
“In CrossWind, we are committed to demonstrate baseload power on a megawatt scale for a single full-scale wind turbine generator,” adds Maria Kalogera, Crosswind’s innovation manager. “We will introduce, for the first time, an offshore combination of battery storage and round-trip hydrogen integrated in an offshore wind farm. It’s exciting to have Ballard on board and integrate their fuel cell solutions in our project.”
