FCHEA Members Working Together to Move Industry Forward
Connor Dolan
The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) is the national trade association representing nearly 60 leading companies and organizations that are advancing innovative, clean, safe, and reliable energy technologies. FCHEA’s members represent the full global supply chain of the industry including fuel cell system and electrolyzer manufacturers, automakers, industrial gas suppliers, component suppliers, service providers, and more.
Through FCHEA’s Working Groups and Committees, members work together on federal and state advocacy, regulatory issues, and stakeholder outreach on all applications and market sectors. One FCHEA member, speaking at a conference several years ago, called this and other collaborative work “co-opetition”, a clever term to describe companies in the field working together on key issues and challenges in the spirit of moving the entire industry forward.
With the hydrogen and fuel cell sector garnering increased attention and investment from new stakeholders and organizations, it is always exciting to see FCHEA members announcing partnerships and other activities outside of the association.
Over the years, there are countless examples of this co-opetition in the fuel cell and hydrogen sector, as well as successful business agreements and ventures between FCHEA’s member companies, but just in the past few months, there have been several very exciting announcements that are worth highlighting.
Early on in 2021, Air Liquide installed a Cummins’ 20 megawatt electrolyzer system at its Bécancour, Quebec, facility. The electrolyzer will use hydropower to produce more than 3,000 tons of hydrogen annually, increasing the facility’s capacity by 50 percent. To date, it is the largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer operating in the world.
Fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy is collaborating with Baker Hughes to develop integrated power solutions utilizing Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cells and Baker Hughes’ gas turbine technology; and integrated hydrogen solutions that combine Bloom’s solid oxide electrolysis cells with Baker’s compression technology. The companies are aiming to launch pilot projects over the next 2 to 3 years, followed by full commercialization and scaling applications, including microgrids, waste heat recovery, carbon capture, and steel refining.
Baker Hughes also made news in April with fellow FCHEA members Plug Power and Chart Industries, Inc., when the three partners committed a total of $320 million in a new private infrastructure fund, the FiveT Hydrogen Fund. As cornerstone investors, the companies and the FiveT fund will focus on investing in large-scale hydrogen infrastructure, production, storage, and distribution projects, primarily in Europe.
Outside of the FiveT fund, Plug Power and Chart Industries’ relationship expanded in March when Plug purchased two 15 ton per day hydrogen liquefaction plants from Chart. The plants will use Chart’s helium refrigeration technology, cold box design, and rotating equipment. The order includes liquid hydrogen storing tanks, trailer loadout bays, and a hydrogen liquefaction system that will utilize gaseous hydrogen generated from an in-house electrolyzer and renewable electricity.
Plug Power also entered into a strategic alliance with Taylor-Warton in February where Taylor-Wharton is increasing the supply and production of its liquid hydrogen tanks to Plug. In May, Plug and Johnson Matthey announced a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a roadmap aimed at integrating JM’s advanced materials in Plug’s electrolyzer system. The companies will work together on a closed loop recycling system for the platinum used in fuel cell catalysts.
PowerCell, a fuel cell manufacturer based in Sweden, joined FCHEA in early 2020, and in the past few months announced several deals with two of FCHEA’s newest members: Bosch and ZeroAvia.
In early May, Bosch ordered MSEK 25 (~US$3 million) of PowerCell S3 fuel cell stacks under a joint development and licensing agreement that was signed in April 2019. Also as part of that arrangement, Bosch purchased MSEK 17.9 (~US$2.1 million) worth of the S3 stacks in December 2020. Bosch received an exclusive license under the agreement to produce and sell PowerCell’s S3 for the transportation sector.
While working with Bosch on the road, PowerCell received several orders from ZeroAvia, a start-up company looking towards the sky. After a successful first flight of a commercial airplane powered by PowerCell’s MS-100 fuel cell system, ZeroAvia placed two additional orders in March and May. ZeroAvia plans to integrate the systems into a 600 kW drivetrain under development. That fuel cell could power a 19-seat airplane.
Nikola Motor Company, another new FCHEA member, signed a long-term agreement in April with Hexagon Purus for Hexagon’s high-performance type 4 hydrogen cylinders over a multi-year time frame. The estimated sales value of the agreement exceeds €200 million (~US$242.3 million).
Hexagon also signed a global supply agreement with Air Liquide in May, to supply Type 4 hydrogen cylinders to deliver hydrogen for use in various sectors.
Toyota awarded fellow FCHEA member W.L. Gore with recognition for the GORE-SELECT Membrane technology that is used in Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle, specifically its 2021 model.
As more opportunities emerge where hydrogen and fuel cells can play a key role in providing clean, reliable, efficient power while decarbonizing various applications across sectors, FCHEA looks forward to touting more member collaborations and progress that help drive the entire industry to meet climate, economic, and environmental justice goals around the world. Stay tuned, things are really starting to take off.