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AKA Energy Systems pitches containerized hydrogen microgrids for resilience and maritime applications
Summary
AKA Energy Systems told Louisiana's task force it adapts maritime hybrid systems for land-based microgrids, offering containerized fuel-cell stacks and battery hybrid solutions intended to improve resilience and cut operating costs for industrial and port operations.
Representatives from AKA Energy Systems described modular, containerized hydrogen microgrids and fuel-cell systems they say can improve resilience at industrial sites and ports.
Bill Myers, business development lead for Louisiana with AKA Energy Systems, introduced the company's focus and said the firm is working with large partners and maritime customers in the Gulf. Kirk Moore, general manager for global services, and Evan Williamson, director of business development, described the company's system-integration approach and its work moving maritime hybrid technology onto land.
"We are now able to put 5 of those in an equivalent of a 40 foot container which pushes out 5 megawatt of power," Evan Williamson said of a Bosch fuel-cell stack the company integrates. The presenters said each Bosch fuel-cell stack is about 1.25 megawatts and the company configures containerized units to meet site requirements.
The presenters emphasized operational resilience for facilities that cannot tolerate downtime. "Most of the projects that we do for the microgrid has a 4 year payback period," Kirk Moore said, describing how the company models downtime costs for industrial clients and calculates return on investment.
AKA representatives said their systems pair electrolyzers, battery banks and fuel cells so facilities can store energy as hydrogen and run fuel cells during outages. They said fuel cells require pure hydrogen, and electrolyzers only produce "green" hydrogen when the electricity input is low-carbon.
The company described maritime and port use cases, including hybrid systems on cruise ships and retrofit work for drill ships and ferries. Bill Myers said AKA is meeting with local community colleges to design workforce training so technicians at refineries, ports and shipyards gain the electrical and hybrid-system skills needed for installation and operation.
Why it matters: presenters said decentralized microgrids can reduce outage-related economic losses at industrial sites, provide options for port and maritime operations to reduce emissions when entering ports, and offer a potential local market for hydrogen producers. The company did not propose specific legislative changes; instead, presenters asked the task force to consider removing deployment barriers and supporting workforce training.
The task force discussion touched on deployment economics, trade and tariffs, and whether Louisiana has local supply-chain capacity for manufacturing and assembly. AKA said it sources batteries and local suppliers where possible and that industrial clients often see payback within a few years.
