Ballard Power Systems Jan. 21, announced that it has signed an equipment supply agreement (ESA), valued at $12 million, with Guangdong Synergy Hydrogen Power Technology Co., Ltd. (Synergy) to provide FCvelocityTM-9SSL fuel cell stacks for use in commercial buses in China. Ballard expects to deliver the stacks in 2016 and 2017.
Synergy will collaborate with Dongfeng Xiangyangtouring Car Co., Ltd. (DFAC), which is part of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan. Dongfeng Motor Corp. is the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in China.
"The momentum we have been experiencing over the past year in China has been primarily driven by heavy duty motive power applications, specifically to power mass transit buses and urban trams," said Randy MacEwen, Ballard president and CEO. "This ESA builds on that momentum, as Ballard's leading PEM technology will be deployed for range extension applications in commercial buses."
MacEwen continued, "We are pleased to see DFAC supporting the largest planned deployment of fuel cell hybrid commercial vehicles globally. And, this agreement contributes to a record sales order book for Ballard, as we begin 2016."
Each FCvelocityTM-9SSL fuel cell stack will deliver approximately 15 kilowatts (kW) of power, appropriate for range extension applications. The ESA for fuel cell stacks signed today is in addition to agreements that Ballard previously announced for heavy duty power applications in China.
