New Energies, new possibilities

Ballard FCgen®-H2PM fuel cell backup power system (CNW Group/Ballard Power Systems

VANCOUVER, BC and HOBRO, Denmark, Dec. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP) (TSX: BLDP) today announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Eltek Nordic (www.eltek.com) – a power conversion company headquartered in Drammen, Norwayand part of Delta, a global leader in power electronics, automation and infrastructure – to provide reliable backup power solutions for telecom networks and other critical communication infrastructure, with a focus on Nordic countries, primarily Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The collaboration announced today will utilize Ballard's FCgen®-H2PM fuel cell backup power system.  

Ballard and Eltek have a long-standing commercial relationship, having sourced products from each other for a number of years. The companies recently collaborated on a project at Trollstigen in the mountains of Norway, installing an off-grid power solution that integrates solar, wind, fuel cells, and batteries to ensure continuous operation and connectivity of a remote telecom network site.    

Jesper Themsen, President and CEO of Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S said, "Telecom and critical communication infrastructure require a highly reliable power supply, including backup power capability in the event of grid outages. With Ballard's history and expertise in fuel cell backup power systems, we are delighted to enter into this collaboration agreement with Eltek Nordic, a leading global power solutions provider, for delivery of zero-emission backup power systems to ensure uninterrupted power supply for telecom and other networks." 

Ulf Ellingsen, Sales Director for Eltek Nordic noted, "Eltek Nordic delivers integrated power solutions for telecom and other critical communications infrastructure, all built around our core power conversion technology. Since hydrogen fuel cells offer a strong value proposition for backup power requirements, we are very pleased to collaborate with Ballard, the leader in PEM fuel cell products. And, with its subsidiary operation in Denmark, Ballard will be virtually local to Eltek projects in Norway, Denmark and Iceland."  

As providers of extensive fiber broadband networks for telecommunications services, Nordic countries require reliable backup power systems that ensure continuous connectivity, even in the event of grid failures. Ballard's hydrogen fueled 1.7 kilowatt (kW) and 5kW FCgen®-H2PM backup power systems provide low cost, flexibility and high reliability:

• Low cost – Competitive total cost of ownership is underpinned by an extensive 15-year product lifetime. 
• Flexibility – Modular design ensures a fit with various site configurations and scalability supports power requirements up to 60kW's and beyond. 
• No risk – High reliability in excess of 99%, tolerance to a wide range of temperatures (from -40oC to +46oC), and an intelligent architecture with predictive maintenance system and automated self-testing design for deployment in unmanned locations. 

About Ballard Power SystemsBallard Power Systems' (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) vision is to deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable planet. Ballard zero-emission PEM fuel cells are enabling electrification of mobility, including buses, commercial trucks, trains, marine vessels, passenger cars and forklift trucks. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements concerning anticipated outcome of the announced collaboration and the customer value proposition for our products. These forward-looking statements reflect Ballard's current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any such forward-looking statements are based on Ballard's assumptions relating to its financial forecasts and expectations regarding its product development efforts, manufacturing capacity, and market demand. 

These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause Ballard's actual results to be materially different, including general economic and regulatory changes, detrimental reliance on third parties, successfully achieving our business plans and achieving and sustaining profitability. For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors that could affect Ballard's future performance, please refer to Ballard's most recent Annual Information Form. Readers should not place undue reliance on Ballard's forward-looking statements and Ballard assumes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as required under applicable legislation.

SOURCE Ballard Power Systems Inc.

Article by Kevin Colbow

As the fuel cell community knows, October 8, 2020 is Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day–a day that’s celebrated every year, and that reflects the increasing importance of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells in the future of transportation.

At Ballard, we are proud of our role in bringing PEM fuel cells to their current level of global prominence. For over 40 years, we have led the world in hydrogen fuel cell technology developments.

this blog, you’ll learn about Ballard’s role in developing the core PEM fuel cell technologies, and our ongoing fuel cell innovations that are increasing performance while dramatically lowering the costs of fuel cell vehicles.
You’ll also get a sneak peek into our product roadmap, and what the future holds for anyone planning to develop or purchase zero-emission buses or trucks.

Delivering fuel cell technology for a cleaner planet: From core PEM technologies to complete systems

Our proprietary proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology efficiently creates zero-emission electricity from air and hydrogen, without the use of toxic materials. This core PEM technology still leads the industry—and we continue to refine it. In fact, we have invested more than $1.5 billion in PEM development.

One of our key assets is our people. Together, we are a collective team of specialized fuel cell developers. Nearly 400 scientists and engineers draw upon 4,700 person-years of experience to advance our product designs. Research and development activities are ongoing to develop new technology that is fed into each product iteration.

Our research and development activities have successfully advanced our designs.We have leveraged our work in technically challenging automotive applications, improved component robustness, scaled up our manufacturing and product processes, and developed our supply chain. These activities have contributed to the launch last year of our 8th generation fuel cell module that leads the industry in power, cost and durability.

We continue to innovate, with a focus on practical commercial advantages

We at Ballard are not content to rest on our successes. We are continually improving our technologies—both the fuel cell engine and the manufacturing processes that create them. To expand our reach to serve a broader range of bus and truck applications, we are continuing to improve those aspects of fuel cell performance that are most critical to commercial vehicles:

• Power density—packing more power in lighter, smaller modules reduces material costs. It also means we can fit fuel cell powertrains under more hoods, even in heavy-duty trucks. Our recently released new FCgen®-HPS fuel cell stack leads the industry with a power density of 4.3kW/L.
• Cost reduction— lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) of commercial vehicles, from increased efficiency (which lowers fuel consumption) and better powertrain integration to recycling and refurbishing fuel cells. Lifecycle cost reductions have now made vehicles powered by Ballard technology competitive on a TCO basis for several heavy duty motive applications. (Learn more in Fuel Cell Price to Drop 70-80% as Production Volume Scales.)
• Durability—With over 30,000 hours of service lifetime powered on the road, Ballard-powered vehicles require only one fuel cell module overhaul during their entire service life, which results in major TCO savings. And, we see a path to even longer life fuel cells.

Looking ahead: What’s next for Ballard?

Continuous improvement to meet the market requirements for commercial vehicles requires an evolution in key fuel cell stack technology attributes. Our technical targets for the next four years are clear, as demonstrated in the chart below.

Ballard, with its vast experience, has the ability to address the trade-offs necessary at the core fuel cell component level to meet market requirements. To put it simply, we know what the technology levers are and we know how to move them to achieve these targets. One such lever is the bipolar plate design.

Proprietary bipolar plate designs deliver sustainability, long life and low cost

Within a PEM fuel cell stack, the bipolar plates are a key component that uniformly distributes fuel and air, removes heat, and prevents leakage of gases and coolant. Our proprietary carbon bipolar plate designs provide a strong competitive advantage.

As you can see in the chart above, Ballard is on the path to achieving a 35% reduction in cell pitch, or bipolar plate assembly thickness in our latest fuel cell stack designs. This brings the cell pitch in alignment with our competitors using metal plates. Metal bipolar plates from automakers, however, are far higher in cost. Ballard bipolar plates are:

• the most durable on the market, with a service life of 35,000 hours.
• the most sustainable, with reusable graphite plates.
• the most cost-effective, graphite is the lowest cost material at any manufacturing volume.

So, with these advances in bipolar plate cell pitch we can deliver industry-leading power density at a lower cost with much higher durability. This all translates into lower lifecycle costs for the vehicle operator.

Growing our product portfolio

High power modules with scalable power levels

Our product roadmap includes the development of high-powered, scalable modules that serve a broad range of power levels, from 45 to 450kW. Scalable power levels, with shared technologies across product lines, allow us to serve markets ranging from commercial light duty truck and medium-duty vehicles (such as medium-duty trucks and buses) to heavy-duty truck applications.

Shared components simplify manufacturing and lower costs for customers. As we continually improve the performance of our fuel cell stack technologies, the improvements will be applied across all power levels, to improve vehicle performance in every one of our markets.

Partnerships will be key to our success. The heavy duty products (150-450kW) for instance, will be developed through a partnership with MAHLE, a leading international Tier 1 supplier to the commercial vehicle and automotive industry.

Ballard has prime responsibility for system design and the fuel cell stack sub-system, while MAHLE’s scope of responsibility includes balance-of-plant components, thermal management and power electronics for the complete fuel cell system. The combination of technology improvements and product industrialization will help us to achieve our 70% cost reduction target.

Why choose Ballard?

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day is a perfect opportunity to reflect on Ballard’s pivotal role in zero-emissions transportation. We developed the core PEM technologies and, through continual innovation, we remain the global technology leader in the PEM fuel cell space. More than 3,000 Ballard-powered buses, trams, trucks, and trains are in commercial use today.

Anyone designing a fuel cell vehicle—or selecting the zero-emission trucks or buses for their fleet—should seriously consider Ballard fuel cell products for their industry-leading durability, power density, reliability, sustainability and low total life cycle cost.

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has acquired assets from privately held Ballard Unmanned Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southborough, Mass.-based Ballard Power Systems Inc. Ballard Unmanned Systems designs and produces industry-leading, stored-hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems that power unmanned aerial systems (UAS), particularly those used for energy inspection, cargo delivery, and other commercial and defense applications where demand for UAS services is growing.

Honeywell is acquiring the key intellectual property, inventory and equipment of Ballard Unmanned Systems. Ballard’s team of fuel-cell experts will also join Honeywell as part of the acquisition.

“Adding Ballard Unmanned Systems to the Honeywell family is another example of our commitment to invest in the growing UAS segment,” said Mike Madsen, president and chief executive officer, Honeywell Aerospace. “We can now begin producing top-quality, scalable power systems for our UAS customers and eventually adapt these systems for other future aerospace, defense and adjacent segment applications.”

Fuel cells function much like traditional batteries but with a key difference: They don’t run out of power or need to be recharged. A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or another fuel to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity. Unmanned aerial systems powered by fuel cells can fly longer distances, are quiet and have zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Ballard Unmanned Systems’ fuel cell power systems can run up to three times longer than batteries and are five times more reliable than small engines. Furthermore, unlike traditional gas engines that have carbon emissions, they utilize hydrogen, a clean source of energy.

With the added capabilities of Ballard Unmanned Systems, Honeywell intends to introduce a family of fuel cell power systems for a variety of UAS vehicles. Honeywell will also collaborate with Ballard Power Systems on broader aviation applications.

Honeywell offers certification expertise as well as a full line of avionics, propulsion and operational systems for unmanned aircraft and UAM vehicles. In June, the company launched a business dedicated to UAS and Urban Air Mobility. Additionally, in September Honeywell opened a new research and development lab to demonstrate the company’s technological capabilities in both hardware and software for the UAS and UAM markets.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and there is no change to Honeywell’s third-quarter 2020 outlook as a result of the acquisition.

MAHLE and Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. have agreed to work together in the future on developing fuel cell systems for commercial vehicles of various weight classes

MAHLE and Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. have agreed to work together in the future on developing fuel cell systems for commercial vehicles of various weight classes. The long-term goal of the cooperation is to manufacture complete fuel cell systems for the European, North American, and Asian markets. During the first phase of the cooperation, Ballard will be primarily responsible for system design relating to the fuel cell stack. MAHLE is bringing its extensive experience in the areas of thermal management, power electronics, and packaging.

“Climate neutral hydrogen is the energy carrier of the future and, at the same time, key for the achievement of climate targets for medium and heavy commercial vehicles” explains Dr.Jörg Stratmann, Chairman of the MAHLE Management Board and CEO. “Through our cooperation with Ballard, we will provide a strong stimulus to the development of fuel cell drives that are suitable for large-scale production.”

“Given increasing policy support for low-emission powertrains in particular, we are pleased to work with MAHLE on driving forward our shared vision of carbon-neutral heavy-duty transport,” says Randy MacEwen, CEO of Ballard Power Systems Inc.

MAHLE has been a series supplier for fuel cell vehicles for several years. The technology group based in Stuttgart/Germany holds a particularly strong position in the complex air intake system, the electronics, and the temperature control of fuel cell systems. The company consequently expandsits application portfolio for hydrogen for some time and also lobbies politically for support for fuel cell technology and hydrogen combustion.

https://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/mahle-and-ballard-to-cooperate-on-fuel-cell-development-for-commercial-vehicles/