Ballard Power Systems, a provider of clean fuel cell products, has received a commitment for a minimum purchase of 3,250 fuel cell stacks from Plug Power. The fuel cell stacks are destined for use in material handling operations and would be procured over the next 1 ½ years.
The companies have an existing supply agreement for the equipment and the fuel cell stacks purchase has been structured under this agreement. The fuel cell stacks have power levels that range from 1.5 kW to 20 kW. The cadence and scale of the product shipments associated with the equipment would reduce the cost of the stack and increase the manufacturing efficiency.
Plug Power has integrated Ballard FCvelocity®-9SSL fuel cell stacks into its GenDrive® systems line. The company is collaborating with Ballard to develop fuel cell stacks with the GenDrive® systems. This would lead to further reduction in cost and increase the geographic reach of the product. The development would also allow use of the system in other suitable applications. The GenDrive® systems are designed to suit class-1, -2 and -3 forklift trucks in North America.
A number of manufacturers and distributors belonging to the North American market, including BMW, Coca-Cola, Wegmans, Whole Foods and FedEx Freight are using GenDrive® systems with Ballard fuel cell stacks. Many companies are converting their fleets of distribution center lift trucks to hydrogen fuel cell power, which underscores the increase in global demand for clean fuel cells.
Source: http://www.ballard.com/