The Port is excited to announce Corvus Energy has chosen Whatcom County to expand its US operations and open a new factory. Corvus Energy is the leading supplier of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for marine applications. The US-based manufacturing facility, located in Bellingham, WA, with an annual capacity of 200 MWh of stored energy capacity, will support demand for marine BESS in the Americas as the marine industry accelerates its adoption of decarbonization technology to meet global GHG emissions reduction targets.
“Congratulations to the Port of Bellingham and Corvus Energy on the new facility here in Washington. Corvus continues to thrive as a global leader in the sustainable transition of the maritime industry and I am pleased that they’ve chosen Washington as their first location in the US,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “This is a great chapter in the ongoing partnership between Washington and Norway on combatting climate change and bringing to reality the green jobs of the future.”
Corvus Energy and the Port of Bellingham are both founding members of Washington Maritime Blue, a strategic alliance formed to implement Washington State’s Strategy for the Blue Economy. This partnership based organization has led several delegations to Norway to engage with the Norwegian national and local governments, industry leaders, and other innovation cluster organizations in the maritime sector.
In September 2019, Don Goldberg, Director of the Port of Bellingham’s Economic Development Division, joined the second delegation and met leadership from Corvus Energy. Upon return to the United States, he continued to try to recruit Corvus to Whatcom County and kept them updated as industrial properties that might suit their expansion needs became available. Corvus Energy noted, "Support from the Port of Bellingham in identifying a location was outstanding, they went above and beyond to help us in the site selection process. Knowing that we had strong, long-term partners that would support our growth plans made the final decision to expand easy.”
The market for Corvus’ products is quickly expanding in the United States. Geir Bjørkeli, CEO of Corvus Energy explains, “We have seen a significant uptake in orders from the US market as well as a growing commitment from the government and industry players on reducing GHG emissions. Increased capacity and production flexibility will be key to meeting anticipated growth. The US factory, along with a more robust sales and service organization, will ensure that we can meet American shipowner’s goals and market demand, providing better services to the US maritime industry.
“Washington state was a natural choice for Corvus due to the presence of a strong maritime cluster, the state’s focus on green shipping, and the proximity to our large team near Vancouver, Canada,” Bjørkeli remarks. “We know that a US presence and close collaboration with shipyards, shipowners, Washington Maritime Blue and other suppliers and service providers foster innovation across the entire industry and build valuable competence. This will work as an accelerator to create local, green jobs.”
“The Port is proud to welcome Corvus Energy to Whatcom County’s strong and dynamic working waterfront,” said Port Executive Director Rob Fix. “There is growing national and international demand for clean energy maritime solutions and Corvus Energy is well positioned for collaboration and growth as the newest member of our maritime community.”
To assist in the setup of the new facility, the Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded the Port a $250,000 strategic reserve fund (SRF) grant to support updating the building to suit Corvus’ needs. This is the fifth SRF grant that the Economic Development Division at the Port has secured since 2019, totaling $1,000,000 to assist the recruitment, retention, or expansion of businesses in Whatcom County.
“We are delighted to welcome Corvus Energy to Washington State, and congratulate the Port of Bellingham on this important partnership,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “Looking beyond our borders to join with global leaders like Corvus Energy is a key element of our strategy to grow strong, diverse regional economies through innovation.”
Josh Berger, President and CEO of Washington Maritime Blue echoed this sentiment. "As a founding member of Washington Maritime Blue, we are thrilled to see Corvus Energy grow right here in our region. As a statewide innovation cluster organization committed to accelerating a sustainable and equitable Blue Economy, we are building a center of excellence for maritime decarbonization and their expertise will help us implement the type of collaborative joint innovation needed for our clean energy transition."
“Coordination and collaboration between the Port of Bellingham, Maritime Blue, and the Washington State Department of Commerce is what ultimately brought Corvus Energy, a global leader in maritime energy storage systems, to Whatcom County,” said Don Goldberg, Director of Economic Development at the Port, “and we are so excited to welcome them.”