Vancouver-based Ballard Power is forging new partnerships and collaboration agreements to help it commercialise and sell proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells to manufacturers of buses, trucks, trains and ships.

The move comes despite the company shifting from being cash-starved to relatively cash-rich, with the stars finally aligning for ‘everything hydrogen’ over the past year or so.

Ballard has arrived at the point where it is filling sub-segments within its heavy-duty mobility business and working to provide more integrated PEM fuel-cell solutions to its customers by striking agreements with up-and-coming companies. This is rather than working with big-name companies as in the past.

“We are looking at companies that make electrolyser technology” McAree, Ballard Power Systems

In addition, Ballard is now on the prowl to acquire companies and invest in joint ventures that can support efforts to slash the cost of its offerings and enhance company revenue, Guy McAree, the company’s director of investor relations, tells Hydrogen Economist

Recent MoUs

Ballard signed two new non-binding memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the first half of this month.

On 3 February, Ballard signed an MoU with Australia’s Global Energy Ventures (GEV), a relatively small company providing integrated compressed gas solutions for shipping. The pair are developing a new fuel-cell powered ship—called C-H2 Ship—designed to transport compressed green hydrogen. Ballard is to provide a PEM fuel-cell propulsion system up to 10MW for the prototype and an approximately 26MW system for the full-scale ship.

“GEV is a very competent company in an up-and-coming industry, the transportation of hydrogen by ship, in which we had yet to become involved, having in the past collaborated with companies with smaller vessels such as ferries and river push boats,” says McAree.

A week later, Ballard signed an MoU with Atlanta-based Chart Industries, a manufacturer of equipment for the industrial gas and clean energy industries. This was for the joint development of integrated onboard liquid hydrogen storage and vaporisation systems for PEM fuel-cell powered vehicles.

“Chart Industries, a highly respected company, could help simplify the purchasing decision for [potential] customers of Ballard by providing a more integrated PEM fuel-cell solution, including onboard storage.”

Rags to relative riches

The financial fortunes of Ballard have changed dramatically recently, although it remains several years from profitability, providing the company a significant war chest to make investments and acquisitions.

Only back in July 2016, Chinese electric motor maker Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Company finalised a $28.3mn strategic investment for a 9.9pc stake in Ballard. Likewise, Weichai Power, a diesel engine maker owned by the Chinese state, took a 19.9pc interest in the company for $163.6mn in November 2018.

By contrast, in the past six months Ballard has raised almost $1bn through three new share offerings, diluting ownership by a relatively small 17pc. “We have a $700mn cash reserve, and we are actively looking for potential acquisitions and joint ventures,” says McAree.

$700mn – Ballard cash reserve

One potential joint venture partner is German auto parts maker Mahle, he says, with which Ballard announced a strategic partnership last September. Ballard does not have PEM fuel-cell manufacturing capacity in Europe, but it does in China through a joint venture with its other strategic partner, Weichai Power.

On the acquisitions front, McAree says Ballard is planning to stick to its heavy-duty mobility focus, but there is one possible exception—electrolyser technology to produce green hydrogen.

“Broadening or deepening our stationary capabilities through M&A is not a high priority at this time,” says McAree, referring to Ballard’s relatively minor position in stationary backup power applications. “On the other hand, we are looking at companies that make electrolyser technology.”

Ballard could benefit from the sale of PEM electrolysers in three ways: by leveraging electrolyser sales to fund investment in fuel-cell technology; through technological synergies between PEM electrolysers and fuel cells since they simply perform the reverse function (water to hydrogen and vice versa); and to build additional scale across its supply chain.

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Author: Vincent Lauerman