The center, which will help secure Norway’s position as a leader in green shipping, was launched by Prime Minister Erna Solberg in Stord on 1 October. The new center will be ready in early 2021 with new facilities for testing, among other things, high-voltage solutions, ammonia and hydrogen.
One in five
The catapult center at Stord is one of five national test centers that the government has established in recent years. The Prime Minister said she was pleased that there are already several companies and shipping companies ready to use the center to test new solutions for future energy carriers, such as ammonia and hydrogen.
“I have great faith that the catapult centers, together with Norwegian business and industry, will contribute to developing the green solutions of the future that will ensure competitiveness, export opportunities and new jobs.”
Erna Solberg
Collaboration between several projects
Several projects are ready to use the new facilities. Among these is the EU project ShipFC, where the Eidesvik ship Viking Energy will be converted to ammonia operations. Prototech will use the center to test fuel cells for operation with fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and LNG.
The center is also central when Wärtsilä is to carry out the world’s first full-scale test of an ammonia engine in collaboration with the energy company Repsol and the shipping company Knutsen OAS.
The company Alltec Services, which is a provider of service services to the gas industry, is entering as the new owner of the building and will make significant investments in the upgrade.
Sustainable Energy partners Prototech, Future Energy Solutions and The Switch will be part of the collaboration and offer expertise, technology and infrastructure for testing.
Siva provides investment support through the Sustainable Energy catapult, and through the catapult scheme, the new center will be available to national and international players who want to test new technology.
Source: www.hydrogen.no
