The five-year deal with Guangdong Nation Synergy Hydrogen Power Technology will establish a fuel-cell stack production operation in Yunfu, a city in the Guangdong Province located along the South China Sea. The region is one of the most heavily populated in the world, with an estimated 107 million people.
The fuel cell stacks will be packaged into locally assembled fuel cell engines.
Randy MacEwan, Ballard president and CEO, said there is a huge overseas appetite for this technology. According to U.K.-based research firm GlobalData, China became the largest installer of clean energy in 2015, accounting for close to 40% of all bio-power, solar, wind and hydro installations globally.
“There is unprecedented market interest for fuel-cell buses and commercial vehicles in China—the largest market in the world,” added MacEwan.
The deal is one of a number the company has signed with China recently.
In September, Ballard closed a $17-million deal to deploy 300 fuel-cell buses in Yunfu and Foshan, another city in the Guangdong Province. Last June, Ballard signed a framework agreement with China’s Tangshan Railway Vehicle Company for development of a fuel cell module that will power trams or light rail systems.
First quarter financials from Ballard noted a 76% increase in revenue from 2015, totalling $16.3 million.
