Ballard expects to firm up details before the end of the year.
In April, Ballard announced $11 million deal to supply 200 of its FCveloCity hydrogen fuel cell engines to a Chinese motor manufacturer.
The engines, manufactured in Vancouver and supplied to Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co. Ltd. in Zhongshan, China, will be used in demonstrations of clean energy buses and commercial vehicles aimed at key Chinese cities.
Last year Broad-Ocean became Ballard’s largest shareholder following an investment of $28.3 million in common shares, representing approximately 9.9% of the outstanding shares.
Ballard has been working with OEM partners on fuel cell power for automotive applications, but hydrogen has been slower to take on the automotive side. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) like the Tesla models currently command the spotlight, but that may change to Ballard’s advantage.
Almost 80% of automotive executives who responded to KPMG’s 2017 Global Automotive Executive Survey said fuel cell vehicles will overtake BEVs.
The key issue is user-friendly charging that can be done quickly at a traditional gas station, making recharging times of 25 to 45 minutes for BEVs seem unreasonable. However, KPMG cautions fuel cell technology is far from market maturity “and will bring new unsolved challenges like the cooling of hydrogen or the safe storage in a car.”
As the year begins its final quarter, Ballard is laying claim to first fuel cell company powering buses for more than 10 million cumulative kilometres of revenue service. There may not be a trophy to go with that accolade but it is an indication the cleantech innovator has come a long way since 1979 and appears to be on track for a market breakthrough.
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