Ballard, HDF Energy constructs Hydrogen Power Plant in French Guiana

Ballard Power Systems and Hydrogene de France (HDF Energy) have started building the CEOG Renewstable Power Plant in French Guiana.

CEOG is the world’s first multi-megawatt, baseload hydrogen power plant and the largest green hydrogen storage of intermittent renewable electricity sources. The $200 million projects will combine a solar park, long-term hydrogen and short-term battery storage and fuel cells specified by HDF, based on Ballard’s ClearGen architecture.

It is expected that the two 1.5 MW fuel cell systems, to be delivered by mid-2023. The systems will use Ballard’s core FCgen-LCS stack technology. It is the first order for a new generation of MW power fuel cell systems dedicated to stationary applications, which will be mass-produced in the HDF facility in Bordeaux.

CEOG plant is designed and developed by HDF will supply 100% renewable, stable and dispatchable power to the equivalent of 10k households at a lower cost than a diesel power plant, but without any emission.

CEOG is the first part of a multi-staged development agreement between Ballard and HDF, initially announced in December 2019.

Damien Havard, CEO of HDF Energy, said, “By supplying non-intermittent renewable energy, CEOG – which we are working to replicate across the world – opens a new era for renewable energies.”

Rob Campbell, Ballard’s CCO, said, “Ballard’s leading Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell technology is well-suited for utility power systems such as this, which require proven reliability, dependability and operating performance in heavy-duty applications.”