Vancouver‑based Ballard Power Systems has signed a purchase order with Hamburg’s eCap Marine GmbH for the supply of 6.4 MW of FCwave™ fuel‑cell engines, intended for two Samskip vessels, according to the company's release.
The order comprises 32 units of Ballard’s FCwave™‑200 kW modules. eCap Marine will integrate these engines into green marine propulsion systems for deployment on Samskip’s SeaShuttle vessels, serving routes between Norway and the Netherlands.
The FCwave™ modules were type‑approved by DNV, Lloyd’s Register, and ABS, representing the first such certification for marine applications.
Deliveries are scheduled between 2025 and 2026.
The project is partly supported by Enova, Norway’s government agency for energy and climate.
Ballard and eCap Marine began cooperating in 2021 during the retrofitting of the Coastal Liberty vessel.
Ballard Power Systems is a publicly‑listed Canadian fuel‑cell technology company, specialising in proton‑exchange membrane (PEM) fuel‑cells for heavy‑duty transport and stationary power solutions. FCwave™ is their marine‑grade, DNV‑type‑approved fuel‑cell module.
eCap Marine GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is an engineering firm offering hydrogen‑based propulsion solutions, including in‑house naval architecture, electrical design, and approvals handling. The company retrofitted the Coastal Liberty vessel and now leads integration of Ballard’s technology into Samskip’s SeaShuttle vessels.
Samskip, based in the Netherlands with European multimodal operations, specialises in short‑sea, rail, road, and barge logistics.