Teco 2030 unveils plan for fuel cells Giga factory in Norway

Teco 2030 has provided additional information (10th March) on its previously announced plan for a combined fuel cell plant and innovation centre in Norway. It said to have considered several other locations for the new facility, though Narvik was eventually selected.

The factory will be established in a facility that previously was home to a plant operated by solar company REC. “The building is completely finished and ready to be put to use, and this is obviously an advantage for the project,” Tore Enger, CEO of Teco 2030, said. Teco will rent the building on a long-term lease agreement with a purchase option.

“We plan to establish a combined innovation centre and factory in Narvik. The plant will be able to produce fuel cells with a capacity of more than one gigawatt per year,” the company CEO added.

The work on the site starts this year, with production is expected to begin in 2022. Teco plan is to increase production capacity gradually. It is expecting an investment of around NOK 1 billion (US$ 0.12 billion) over ten years.

The company will develop fuel cells for heavy transport, primarily in shipping, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. It is collaborating with the Austrian technology company AVL for the development of the technology.

The plant is likely to promote hydrogen in the region. “While the neighbouring city of Harstad is the oil capital of Northern Norway, our goal is now that Narvik becomes Norway’s hydrogen capital,” Mr Enger added.

The company also evaluates various financing alternatives for the new Giga factory and in talks with various organisations, including the Norwegian public environmental body Enova.