Ballard Power Systems Explained

Ballard Power Systems Inc.
Type:Public
Key People:Ian Bourne, chairman of the board of directors
Randy MacEwen, president and chief executive officer
Industry:Alternative energy
Products:
  • Fuel cells stacks
  • Fuel cells modules
Former Names:Ballard Research
Num Employees:630 (Dec 2017)
Foundation:1979
Location:Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Ballard Power Systems Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for markets such as heavy-duty motive (consisting of bus and tram applications), portable power, material handling as well as engineering services. Ballard has designed and shipped over 400 MW of fuel cell products to date.

History

Ballard was founded in 1979 by geophysicist Geoffrey Ballard, Keith Prater, and Paul Howard, under the name Ballard Research Inc. to conduct research and development on high-energy lithium batteries. Since committing to the development of PEM fuel cell technology in 1989, Ballard has delivered PEM fuel cell products worldwide to a number of leading product manufacturers.[1]

Ballard went public in 1993 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE), and in 1995 was listed on the NASDAQ. Ballard Power Systems opened a fuel cell manufacturing facility in 2000 in Burnaby, B.C.[2]

Automotive fuel cell cooperations

On February 1, 2008, Ballard spun out Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC)[3] to allow for further expansion of fuel cell technology.[4] [5] After the split, Ballard continued as a publicly traded company focusing on non-automotive applications (including buses), while AFCC became a privately held company of 150 employees, developing hydrogen fuel cell stacks for automobiles. AFCC's initial ownership split was Daimler AG (50.1%), Ford Motor Company (30.0%), and Ballard itself (19.9%).[6]

In 2018, Ballard signed a contract with Weichai Power for a strategic partnership. Weichai acquired for US$163 million19.9 percent of Ballard's shares.[7] As part of this collaboration, Ballard and Weichai intend to supply the Chinese market with fuel cell systems for trucks, busses, and forklifts.[8]

In cooperation with German car manufacturer Audi, Ballard is part of a development partnership for automotive fuel cells, which will run at least until 2022.[9] Ballard delivers fuel cells to bus manufacturers, e.g. Van Hool (Belgium), New Flyer (Canada) and Solaris (Poland).[10] [11]

Other activity areas

Besides road vehicles, Ballard delivers fuel cells also for trains,[12] mining trucks,[13] marine applications,[14] [15] [16] [17] and backup power systems for critical infrastructures such as radio towers.[18] [19] Furthermore, a fuel cell system for application in drones is under development.[20]

Achievements

Ballard has:

References

  1. Web site: Ballard Power Systems. Finpedia.co. 13 October 2019.
  2. Web site: The Practice of Innovation: Seven Canadian Firms in Profile. 2003. Government of Canada. 1 July 2016.
  3. Web site: AFCC Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation . 2018-04-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150405152327/http://www.afcc-auto.com/about.php?name=company . 2015-04-05 . dead .
  4. Automotive Tech: "The Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC)" - technologynewsdaily.com - November 8, 2007 - Retrieved November 08, 2007
  5. http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-614216-1-987935-1-0-0-0-0-1-11700-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html?TS=1194552622715&REF=921%2Fen%2FNewsroom%20%28Home%29%2F.Newsroom%20%28Home%29%2F%23XCID%3D614228%20%7C%20XPID%3D0%20%7C%20XCTY%3D3897%20%7C%20XAID%3D "Daimler AG to become majority stake holder in new ”Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation”"
  6. Web site: Daimler, Ford Teaming Up On Fuel Cells . Jalopnik. 12 March 2015 . 9 November 2007.
  7. Web site: China: Weichai wird größter Anteilseigener von Ballard. electrive.net. 2020-03-29. 2018-08-29. de.
  8. Web site: Ballard Receives $19.2M Order from Weichai-Ballard JV for MEAs to Power Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles in China. PRNewswire. 2020-03-29. 2019-12-16. en.
  9. Web site: Audi and Ballard extend fuel cell cooperation. electrive.com. 2020-03-29. 2018-06-12. en.
  10. Web site: Pau (France) welcomes the launch of the world's first hydrogen BRT. Sustainable Bus. 2020-03-29. 2019-12-18. en.
  11. Web site: Solaris orders 25 Ballard fuel cell modules to power hydrogen buses in Germany. Sustainable Bus. 2020-03-29. 2010-03-13. en.
  12. Web site: Brennstoffzellen: Siemens beauftragt Ballard Power. electrive.net. 2020-03-29. 2017-11-15. de.
  13. Web site: Ballard Receives PO From Anglo American for 900kW of Fuel Cell Modules to Support Mining Truck Demonstration Project. PR Newswire. 2020-03-29. 2019-10-29. en.
  14. Web site: Ballard to produce FC modules for ships in Denmark. electrive.net. 2020-03-29. 2019-04-04. en.
  15. Web site: LH2 Vessel Liquid H2 concept Validation for Efficient, Scaled and Stacked FC Electric Power Systems. energiforskning.dk. 2020-03-29. 2020-03-25. en. 2020-03-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20200328195849/https://energiforskning.dk/en/node/9446. dead.
  16. Web site: Ballard udvikler maritim brændselscelle i Hobro. 25 March 2020 . energiforskning.dk. 2020-03-29. da.
  17. Web site: Flagships Partners. flagships.eu. 2020-03-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20200406123711/https://flagships.eu/partners/. 2020-04-06. 2019. en. bot: unknown.
  18. Web site: Ballard Signs ESAs for Fuel Cell Stacks to Support Backup Power Systems at German Radio Towers. Ballard Power Systems. 2020-03-29. 2020-01-13. en.
  19. Web site: Fuel Cells: The Better Backup Power Solution for Scandinavia. H2 View. 2020-03-29. 2020-03-25. en.
  20. Web site: UAV Fuel Cells Tested in Cold-Weather Conditions. Unmanned Systems Technology. 2020-03-29. 2019-12-30. en.
  21. Web site: Ballard Powers Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles For Unprecedented 30 Million Kilometers - Enough to Circle the Globe 750 Times. PRNewswire. 2021-10-05. 2020-01-27. en.

https://www.bctechnology.com/news/2021/3/22/Fuel-Cell-Electric-Vehicles-Powered-by-Ballard-Have-Now-Driven-Over-75-Million-Kilometers--Enough-to-Circle-the-Globe-1870-Times.cfm

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