Weichai Power, a leading Chinese automobile1 and equipment manufacturing firm, signed a strategic collaboration2 deal Wednesday with British solid oxide3 fuel cell (SOFC) maker4 Ceres Power.
潍柴动力,中国一家领先的汽车和设备制造公司,周三与英国燃料电池制造商锡里斯动力公司签署战略合作协议。
Under the agreement, Weichai, which is listed in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, plans to pay more than 40 million British pounds for a 20-percent stake in Ceres Power, developer of the SteelCell, a leading low-cost SOFC technology.
The two also agreed to set up a
joint5 venture for fuel cell system manufacturing in the eastern Chinese city of Weifang, where Weichai is headquartered, by 2020.
The strategic relationship provides Ceres Power access to the Chinese market, the world's fastest-growing market for fuel cells.
Ceres Power agreed to
authorize6 phased technology transfer to manufacture products for commercial vehicles, buses and certain
stationary7 power markets in China.
Their initial plan is to
jointly8 develop and launch an SOFC fuel cell range extender system using compressed natural gas for China's fast-growing electric bus market.
"We are delighted to be working with Weichai in a
partnership9 that provides access to the Chinese market for our SteelCell technology and also scale-up capital for our growth in the UK," said Phil Caldwell, CEO of Ceres Power.