Ballard Power Systems and Quantron AG have announced that they have inked a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment and market adoption of fuel cell technologies. The combined, complementary expertise of Ballard and Quantron facilitates broader customer access to zero-emissions fuel cell electric trucks without compromising on the range, payload, vehicle utilization, or total cost of ownership.
The preliminary collaboration will focus on the integration of Ballard's FCmove family of heavy-duty fuel cell power modules into Quantron's electric drivetrain and vehicles. Fuel cell electric truck platforms currently in development include a 7.5-tonne delivery truck, a 44-tonne heavy-duty truck, and a municipal waste collection truck.
The deployment of fuel cell electric trucks is scheduled for the second half of 2022. In Europe, various government subsidies and incentives will be available to vehicle fleet operators. Specifically, Germany has recently committed to covering up to 80 percent of conversion costs from internal combustions engines to alternative drives through the e-mobility support program.
Andreas Haller, Founder, and Chairman of Quantron AG stated: "The cooperation with Ballard enables us to bring customized hydrogen commercial vehicles with fuel cell electric drives to the market. Today we embark on a journey of joint development and production of fuel cell electric commercial vehicles"
Robert Campbell, Chief Customer Officer of Ballard Power Systems expressed "Ballard is looking forward to collaborating with Quantron to accelerate the adoption of fuel cell technology for truck applications. The combination of both companies expertise will deliver high-performance hydrogen trucks to respond to the growing demand for zero-emission vehicles from fleet operators and unlock new business opportunities for medium and heavy-duty fuel cell trucks in Germany. Ballard is bringing its 8th generation of heavy-duty fuel cell power module experience built upon over 85 million kilometres of road service from over 3,500 buses and trucks powered by our leading PEM technology today."