Ballard signs development agreement with Chart Industries
by CM Staff
The collaboration is targeted to enable accelerated adoption of hydrogen in heavy-duty transport applications requiring long range, rapid refueling and lowest total cost of ownership of the vehicle.
VANCOUVER and ATLANTA — Ballard Power Systems announced on Feb. 10 that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chart Industries, Inc. – a global manufacturer of engineered equipment for the industrial gas and clean energy industries – for the joint development of integrated system solutions that include a fuel cell engine with onboard liquid hydrogen storage and vaporization for the transportation industry, with a focus on heavy-duty applications including buses, trucks, rail and marine vessels.
Both Ballard and Chart have provided hydrogen solutions and equipment to industries for a number of years, including a very rapid increase in sales activity in 2020 and year-to-date 2021. This collaboration of two industry veterans is targeted to enable accelerated adoption of hydrogen in heavy-duty transport applications requiring long range, rapid refueling and lowest total cost of ownership of the vehicle.
Liquid hydrogen is well-suited for the transportation industry as its higher density, lower pressure, and ease of filling via liquid hydrogen pump contributes to the ability for larger mobile equipment to travel longer distances, similar to what is possible today with diesel fuel. As part of the development agreement –
- Chart will provide:
- Liquid hydrogen expertise from liquefaction plant to storage, fueling & onboard tanks
- Extensive truck LNG tank experience
- An existing liquid hydrogen onboard vehicle tank prototype design
- Fuel to vehicle connection / interface experience
- LH2 test lab in Minnesota, United States
- Ballard will provide:
- Proton exchange membrane (“PEM”) fuel cell technology expertise
- PEM fuel cell stacks, modules and systems
- Fuel cell mobility experience with over 70m km of vehicle operation
- Market access to System Integrators and vehicle OEMs
- Fuel cell testing facilities in British Columbia, Canada and Denmark
“Given both of our companies’ extensive experience in the Class 8 long haul truck, bus, rail and marine areas of transportation as well as hydrogen, this combination of expertise will create a unique, differentiated and cost-effective solution for transportation customers as the industry moves to cleaner power,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s CEO and President. “We are proud to partner with Ballard, a global proven and focused leader in hydrogen.”
Randy MacEwen, Ballard President and CEO added, “Chart Industries is a strong partner for development of integrated and optimized hydrogen solutions that include storage of liquid hydrogen for our fuel cell engines. Together with Chart, we intend to help simplify customers’ buying decisions, regardless of the specific Heavy-Duty Motive application being addressed.”
