Ballard Power Systems has announced the signing of a new long-term supply agreement with NFI Group for 100 fuel cell engines.
The independent bus and coach manufacturer based in North America and Europe will utilise Ballard’s FCmove® modules in its hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses.
Primarily produced in Ballard’s Bend, Oregon facility, the modules will power NFI’s major brand, New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ hydrogen fuel cell buses.
With the modules expected to be delivered in 2024, the hydrogen fuel cell buses will be deployed across the US and Canada, including California, Manitoba, Nevada, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
David White, Executive Vice-President, Supply Management at NFI, said, “This agreement is the next step in our multi-decade partnership with Ballard and a key component in advancing our leading fuel cell bus offerings.
“By working with Ballard across numerous bus products in multiple jurisdictions, we have been able to leverage best practices and generate design, engineering and sourcing synergies.”
Last year, NFI’s Canadian business New Flyer selected Hexagon Purus as its supplier of hydrogen cylinders, chosen for the third year in a row as a partner for the hydrogen bus market in North America.
Hexagon Purus announced it would deliver its Type 4 hydrogen storage cylinders between 2023 Q2 and Q1 2024, under a $2.5m contract.
Read more:New Flyer selects Hexagon Purus’ hydrogen cylinders for fuel cell buses
David Mucciacciaro, Ballard’s Chief Commercial Officer, stated everyone at the company is “proud” to be chosen as the partner for the next phase of growth in the fuel cell bus market.
He added, “We believe New Flyer is well positioned to deliver deployment scale volumes of fuel cell buses, particularly in the US market, where operators increasingly prefer hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses for their range, short refuelling times, high-availability, and cost-effective infrastructure requirements.”
Throughout 2023, Ballard supported Solaris Bus & Coach with fuel cell modules, receiving an order for 96 engines in August (2023). The company ordered a further 62 hydrogen fuel cell engines in November, set to power buses in Germany and Poland.
Read more:Bus manufacturer orders further 62 hydrogen fuel cell engines from Ballard
Newsletters
H2 View knows just how much hydrogen news there is to keep on top of. Keep up to date on the latest developments across the industry with our daily newsletter that will give you the top five stories of the day, straight to your inbox.
Don’t forget we also have our weekly newsletter which includes a round-up of the past seven days’ hydrogen highlights, including not only news but also interviews, features and analysis.
Sign up for our newsletters.
