This strategic partnership is the beginning of a long-term collaboration involving the co-design, co-development, production, marketing, and sales of integrated fuel cell battery solutions.
With complementary technologies, customers, verticals and markets, the Ballard and Forsee Power partnership is expected to increase technological performance, optimize costs, extend service life, and reduce customer friction points by providing pre-integrated and optimized electric powertrain solutions.
As part of the strategic relationship, Ballard is committing to participate as a cornerstone lead investor (up to €40m (US$46m)) in connection with the proposed IPO of Forsee. This commitment would allow Ballard to acquire a stake in Forsee Power upon its initial public offering on Euronext in Paris, France, with Ballard also having the right to appoint a board member to the Forsee Power board of directors.
Randy MacEwen, Ballard’s president and CEO, said, “Today, OEM customers typically procure the various pieces of the fuel cell and battery powertrain separately, and then need to integrate them together. By offering pre-designed and fully optimized and integrated fuel cell-battery solutions to our customers, we expect to ease implementation friction points. Our exciting partnership with Forsee Power represents an important step to achieve our goal. Together, we plan to accelerate scaled adoption of hydrogen FCEVs in heavy-duty mobility applications.”
“This partnership is expected to provide key strategic advantages: technological know-how, industrial capacities, and geographical coverage to capture the growth of the hydrogen vehicle market. While the climate emergency urges the transport sector to accelerate its energy transition, it will be a game changer to advance hydrogen mobility, bringing a stronger offering of zero-emission technologies to our OEM customers for road, rail, and marine applications,” added Christophe Gurtner, chairman and CEO of Forsee Power.