Phil Caldwell, CEO of Ceres Power, said
“This latest announcement is testament to the strength of our relationship with Nissan, with whom we have already made significant strides in range extension technology over the past two years. We are grateful for the support from the APC and UK Government. The SteelCell® is now setting the standard for solid oxide fuel cell technology around the world. This year we have delivered on our commercial objectives and we continue to target an additional broad strategic collaboration in 2018.”
Ceres Power Plc (LON: CWR), developer of the SteelCell®, a world-leading, low cost Solid Oxide Fuel Cell technology, is pleased to announce it has entered into a new partnership with Nissan to further develop fuel cell technology for EV applications. Ceres Power and The Welding Institute have been awarded a total of £8m UK government funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre for this project.
Highlights:
• Nissan, Ceres Power and TWI to enter into a new partnership to further develop fuel cell technology for EV application
• Ceres Power will receive £7 million funding and TWI will receive £1 million funding from APC as part of an overall £19 million programme over c. 3 years
• New partnership builds on the successful Joint Development with Nissan over the past 2 years and sees Ceres Power accelerating commercialisation of its SteelCell® fuel cell technology in automotive markets
• This comes soon after Ceres Power’s recent announcement of a strategic partnership with China’s Weichai Power to develop its technology for China’s fast-growing electric powered bus market
After a successful two-year Innovate UK funded development programme (EVRE – Electric Vehicle Range Extender), this project is the natural next step towards increased technology and manufacturing readiness for mass production of Ceres Power’s SteelCell® for automotive applications.
This project will involve the design, build, test and demonstration of a compact, robust, UK-produced SOFC stack, deployed within a Nissan designed fuel cell module suitable for operation with a variety of high efficiency fuel types (including biofuels).
The UK Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy, which requires a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, is accelerating the shift to battery Electric Vehicles. Introducing fuel cell technology alongside batteries further enables increased drive range and has a significant role to play in the acceleration of the uptake of battery EVs.
This latest announcement demonstrates Ceres Power’s ability to bring its technology toward commercialisation through existing partnerships. The SteelCell® continues to attract world-class OEMs that are looking to develop an alternative to combustion engine technologies. Ceres Power has six strategic partners, including Cummins, Honda & Nissan, two as yet unnamed partners and a recently confirmed strategic investment partner in Weichai Power, which is primarily for range extension technology in China’s fast-growing battery-electric bus market.
