MOU in Europe Hi
news just out. Seems quite some momentum in the industry after positive news form plug power now
followd by these news today by BLD:
quote:
Ballard to supply fuel cells on European hybrid buses
2013-12-05 16:46 ET - News Release
Mr. John Sheridan reports
BALLARD SIGNS MOU WITH VAN HOOL FOR FURTHER ZERO EMISSION FUEL CELL BUS DEPLOYMENTS
Ballard Power Systems Inc. has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Van Hool NV, Europe's fourth largest bus manufacturer, in support of the manufacture and further deployment of zero-emission fuel cell buses.
By February, 2014, the companies plan to jointly respond to last week's call for proposals under the European Union hydrogen fuel cell joint undertaking, and also plan to jointly respond to other future calls for proposals under the Horizon 2020 program.
Van Hool is a Belgium-based independent bus, coach and industrial vehicle OEM with a strong history of innovation in bus manufacturing. In 2014, there will be 27 Van Hool fuel cell buses in public transit operation in Europe, powered by Ballard fuel cell power modules.
Leopold Van Hool, Van Hool chairman of the board, said, "With the signing of this MOU, we look forward to expanding the success of our zero-emission bus partnership with Ballard to include even more cities in the European transit bus market."
Ballard FCvelocity-HD6 fuel cell power modules are delivering a high level of performance in European buses. For example, on a year-to-date basis, Ballard fuel-cell modules have delivered availability greater than 97 per cent in buses operating in London and Amsterdam.
For the newly funded buses, Ballard will deliver its next-generation fuel cell power module to Van Hool for incorporation into hybrid bus platforms. This new FCvelocity-HD7 power module will offer improved durability and reliability along with significant cost reduction. The MOU also provides for the establishment of a dedicated service-and-parts centre at Van Hool facilities in Belgium, to support all buses powered by Ballard fuel cells in Europe.
John Sheridan, Ballard's president and chief executive officer, said: "We are very pleased to partner with Van Hool in our application for EU funding to support the deployment of additional fuel cell-powered buses. This will help generate economies of scale that we expect to drive further overall cost reduction."
The EU hydrogen fuel cell joint undertaking is a public-private partnership supporting research, technological development, and demonstration activities in fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies, providing subsidies for eligible projects through a cost-share mechanism. The European Commission and industry have each committed to contribute 470 million euros of funding into fuel cell and hydrogen research in the 2008-to-2017 period. The next program, Horizon 2020, will extend this initiative through the year 2020 with an incremental budget of 700 million euros.
© 2013 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
LUBI54