At a ceremony held Sept. 25, in the company's global headquarters, Ballard Power Systems signed a new long-term license and supply agreement with an existing partner in China, Guangdong Synergy Hydrogen Power Technology Co., Ltd. (Synergy), to provide fuel cell Power Products and Technology Solutions in support of the planned deployment of approximately 300 fuel cell-powered buses in the cities of Foshan and Yunfu, China.
The deal has an estimated initial value of $17 million through 2016, with the opportunity for significant recurring royalties starting in 2017. The agreement includes supply and sale of fully-assembled fuel cell power modules, ready-to-assemble module kits, a technology license for localization of assembly, supply of proprietary fuel cell stacks and long-term recurring royalties leveraged to unit volumes of locally assembled modules.
"We are thrilled to have Ballard selected as the exclusive supplier of fuel cell technology for the largest ever global deployment of fuel cell buses," said Randy MacEwen, Ballard president and CEO. "The Foshan and Yunfu governments are demonstrating strong vision and leadership by championing a collaboration model that addresses mass transit needs, supports air quality initiatives and contributes to continued economic development."
Xu Guo, vice mayor of the city of Yunfu said, "We are moving the cities of Foshan and Yunfu into the future by adopting clean, quiet and economical fuel cell buses. And, we are pleased to have a strong consortium of partners, including Ballard, Synergy and Feichi Bus."
Ma Dongsheng Frank, CEO of Synergy stated, "We selected Ballard, the global leader in fuel cell technology for buses, as our exclusive technology partner. Ballard's flexible approach in developing a partnership model along with leading technical solutions that address the unique needs and opportunities in the Chinese market has been impressive. We look forward to localizing assembly of Ballard fuel cell modules in Foshan / Yunfu to meet the fast-growing demand for clean energy buses in China."
Chen Xiaomin, vice chairman of Foshan Automobile Transportation Group Co., Ltd. added, "Foshan Automotive is a leader in the manufacture of clean energy buses in Guangdong Province. We see strong demand for low carbon solutions, and are excited by the opportunity to be first-to-market with a fuel cell bus offering. This deal represents a potential catalyst for further advancement and adoption of fuel cell buses inChina."
The ceremony at Ballard was also attended by senior representatives of the Canadian Federal Government as well as the British Columbia Provincial Government, including B.C. Minister of International Trade Teresa Wat.
Minister Wat said, "This deal shows that B.C. is ready to meet China's rapidly-growing clean energy needs and is a world leader in fuel cell technology with the necessary talent and skills to deliver in the global marketplace. This job-generating deal is a great accomplishment for Ballard and our government is a proud supporter of the company's growth throughout the Asia Pacific Region."
MacEwen continued, "Given its scale and importance, this deployment in Foshan will serve as a major competitive advantage for Ballard and our local partners as we seek to bring additional Chinese cities onboard.China's new energy program involves forty-eight cities that are focused on addressing severe air quality issues, in part through expansion of public transit, with one thousand clean energy buses to be deployed in each participating city."
Alfred Wong, Ballard's director – sales for Asia Pacific added, "This follow-on agreement with Synergy represents a strong statement of support for Ballard's technology and products in terms of meeting the emerging interest for fuel cell adoption in China's enormous mass public transportation sector. Ballard has a strong brand in China and we are moving quickly to seize early market demand."
On Sept. 24, Ballard announced that the company is developing two new configurations of its FCvelocity-HD7 power module, to deliver 30 kilowatts (kW) and 60 kW of net power, respectively, in addition to the 90 kW net power configuration which was launched in June. These two new module configurations are planned to be available for commercial deployment in 2016 and will be supplied to Synergy.
