Ballard Power Systems Inc. (USA)(NASDAQ:BLDP) reported that it has finalized a Development Deal with Siemens AG for the advancement of a zero-emission fuel cell engine to support Siemens’ Mireo light rail train. The deal has a contemplated value of worth $9 million to Ballard.
The details
As per the terms of the Development Deal, Ballard will advance a 200 kilowatt fuel cell engine for incorporation into Siemens’ latest Mireo train platform. Mireo marks as a modular commuter train platform intended for speeds of up to 160 kilometers/hour. Due to lightweight design, intelligent onboard network management and energy-efficient components, the Mireo will use less energy as compared to trains with equivalent passenger capacity. Preliminary deployments of the fuel cell-run Mireo train are targeted for 2021.
Sabrina Soussan of Siemens expressed that their cooperation with Ballard is a major step towards substituting diesel-supported rail vehicles with emissions-free automobiles in the long term stakes of climate-friendly and sustainable mobility. They intend to be able to provide their consumers flexible train solutions for different suburban routes, which differ according to technical and regional conditions possibilities.
Randy MacEwen, the CEO and President of Ballard, expressed that they are witnessing fast market demand mounting for clean energy fuel cell know-how in a range of Heavy Duty Motive applications, counting transit buses, commercial trucks, trains and trams. This deal with Siemens, a key industrial conglomerate and major international train OEM, is a proof to the overall value proposition provided by Ballard’s fuel cell know-how in a demanding duty cycle and use case. In this application, fuel cells allow electrification with range, without the requirement for costly catenary wire infrastructure.
Siemens is the leading industrial manufacturing firm in Europe, headquartered in Munich, and with offices across the globe. Siemens has over 350,000 employees globally and the firm recorded revenue in surplus of USD$94 billion in 2016.
