Teco 2030 plans for Norway’s first Giga hydrogen fuel cell factory
Teco 2030 announced today (17th February) its plan to build the first large-scale production of fuel cells Giga factory in Norway. It will be mainly serving hydrogen-based ships and other heavy-duty installations.
The Giga factory will require an investment of around € 100 million (US$ 121 million) over around ten years. It has been evaluating various alternatives; and has applied for support under the IPCEI Hydrogen program via Enova, the Norwegian state enterprise.
AVL, Austrian engineering company and developer of powertrain systems, which supports Teco in the fuel cells, will also contribute to the factory’s planning and construction. Their partnership has already resulted in producing the Teco Future Funnel, the exhaust gas cleaning system. The plan is to start fuel cell production in 2022.
Teco has yet to finalise the Giga factory’s exact location, but the company shortlisted Eastern Norway, probably in Viken, Vestfold or Telemark counties. An important factor will be proximity to competence clusters within technology and shipping. The factory can result in 500 jobs.
Tore Enger, CEO of Teco 2030 ASA, said, “Our ambition is to build an advanced innovation centre combined with a Giga factory, meaning that we will produce fuel cells with a capacity of 1200 MW/year [1.2 GW/year]. This corresponds to several hundred million euros in annual turnover. This will be the first volume production of fuel cells in Norway and a hub for the Norwegian hydrogen industry.” He added that to have extensive support for the plans from key actors within the shipping and energy industries and universities.
Teco has partnered with various industrial players, including Austrian electricity company Verbund, Dutch inland shipping company Chemgas, and the Dutch shipyard Thecla Bodewes.
