Australian order for Dutch hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer

The Arnhem company NedStack will deliver a hydrogen fuel cell system for an Australian prawn trawler. A contract has been signed on the 11th of May. In addition to the delivery of the fuel cells, the contract also includes knowledge transfer to the Australian system integrator, ElectryGen PTY. Australian engineers will follow a fuel cell systems training at NedStack’s facilities in September 2009. The boat will be operational in 2010. The propulsion of the prawn trawler will consist of a hybrid drive, consisting of a (30kW) hydrogen fuel cell system combined with batteries. These types of fuel cell-electric drive lines are the most efficient that exist and produce zero emissions such as greenhouse and other harmful gasses. Only water is generated as waste product.

The trawler is owned by Nalok Enterprises P/L. Owner Colin James wants to develop a fleet of hydrogen powered ships to contribute to a cleaner environment. More than 400 ships navigate the 4,000 km long coastline where the ship is deployed (in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Great Barrier Reef coast of Queensland). Home port is Cairns, Queensland, Australia. This project is privately funded .

This vessel is the second commercial maritime application of NedStack. This year, the company also delivers two fuel cell systems for the first commercial hydrogen-operated canal boat in Amsterdam. The company NedStack was founded in 1998. It produces hydrogen fuel cells for automotive purposes, and stationary power units including telecom back-up applications. NedStack is the largest fuel cell manufacturer in Europe. The market for fuel cell based hydrogen engines is expanding rapidly. In two years, the hydrogen power NedStack delivered, has increased by 500%. In 2012 this will have grown by a factor twenty.