Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of fuel cell based in Burnaby.

The company was founded in 1979 as Ballard Research Inc. by Geoffrey Ballard. Since 1983 technology for fuel cells has been developed in Ballard. In 1993, the first fuel cell powered hydrogen-based technology bus was presented. 2001 was the first product available on the market.

In addition to the fuel cell stack, the core components, other subsystems have been developed for energy conversion. In 2005, the system business of DaimlerChrysler and Ford as part of a joint venture was acquired. NuCellSys GmbH in nabern (formerly Ballard Power Systems AG) was given the task to develop fuel cells for series production. The integration of the fuel cell drive system in the vehicle, however, is complicated by numerous technical constraints. In 2009, the Daimler AG acquires 50 % share of the Ford Motor Company at the NuCellSys GmbH. NuCellSys GmbH thus becomes a 100% subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Ballard Power Systems itself so focused on the development of fuel cells and electric drives for fuel cell vehicles. 2002, the company got a contract to supply the drives for 30 fuel cell buses from Mercedes- Benz, the part of the CUTE project ( Clean Urban Transport for Europe ) / ECTOS ( Ecological City Transport System) in Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Reykjavík, Stockholm, Stuttgart and Hamburg were tested in practical operation from 2003 to 2006. The three other vehicles arrived in Beijing and Perth used. Since the launch of the project in 2003, these buses have transported the type Mercedes -Benz Citaro BZ over 4 million passengers.

After the expiry of the CUTE program, the fuel cell buses in 2007 only in Hamburg ( nine vehicles because the former buses were moved here for Stuttgart and Stockholm ), Amsterdam and London. The Hamburg elevated railway has proven its CUTE fuel cell buses in the summer of 2010 out of service and has entered into a new project, the " SauberBus " 2011.

In addition to drives for vehicles, fuel cell systems are manufactured for installation in 19 - inch standard housing, which are considered an alternative to conventional technologies such as batteries or generators to realize with the aim of Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and emergency power units.

Competitor

Ballard Power Systems is one of the largest companies in the industry. Competitors include:

  • UTC Fuel Cells
  • Hydrogenics
  • Plug Power
  • FuelCell Energy
  • Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Proton Motor
Types of business entity Hamburger Hochbahn Mercedes-Benz F-Cell
101562
de