Today, Anders Korsgaard, CEO at Blue World Technologies and Wang Yanqing, Chairman at Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., signed a strategic partnership agreement as a first step towards realising the plans of a methanol fuel cell factory on the Port of Aalborg. The factory is planned to start production in the summer of 2020 and from then the production will ramp-up.
At Blue World Technologies the decision to enter a partnership with Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. is based on Wuxi Lead’s specialised experience within intelligent production equipment for batteries and photovoltaics and long track record, which includes production setups for some of the world’s leading manufacturers of batteries – including companies like Samsung, LG, Panasonic, CATL, and BYD – together with a unique experience within equipment for production of fuel cell components and systems.
“Having worked with fuel cell technology for two decades, we know that we have to be ambitious to reach our goals of being the world-leading supplier of methanol fuel cell systems and a strong production with a high degree of automation is key to success. The signing today with the world-class supplier of intelligent production equipment, Wuxi Lead, marks the first step in achieving this”, says Anders Korsgaard, CEO at Blue World Technologies after the signing.
Intelligent mass production of fuel cells
Wang Yanqing, Chairman at Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., and CEO at Blue World Technologies, Anders Korsgaard, signs partnership agreementThe Blue World Technologies fuel cell factory production lines will include manufacturing processes of key fuel cell components such as membrane, electrode and bipolar plates, all in a highly automated, intelligent setup ensuring a high-speed, large-scale production at a high-quality level.
High manufacturing capacity of production equipment and the strong competences of the Wuxi Lead team enables them to deliver a setup within a minimal timeframe. All the equipment and the manufacturing processes are tailor-made to match the specifications of the Blue World Technologies fuel cell, but since many manufacturing processes are similar to battery production, Wuxi Lead can draw from their extensive experience ultimately resulting in an energy-efficient, cost-competitive methanol fuel cell system.
“It is a great opportunity for us to work with Blue World Technologies on the production setup for their fuel cell factory here in Aalborg. Our strong experience with production equipment, both on the Chinese and European market, together with the Blue World Technologies intensive knowledge about fuel cell technology creates a solid base for our collaboration”, says Wang Yanqing, Chairman at Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.
The construction of the 5.285 m2 production building will begin in September and the installation of the production equipment will take place during Q2 2020.
A green alternative to the combustion engine
The high-efficient methanol fuel cell system of Blue World Technologies is applicable to a variety of applications, with a primary focus on the automotive market. The fuel cell system acts as a range extender for a battery electric vehicle. Combining a smaller battery pack with the methanol fuel cell brings the convenient benefits we know from combustion engines to the electric vehicles, such as a more than 1,000 km driving range and a fast refuelling time.
The fuel cell systems run on methanol which is a liquid fuel that can be produced from renewable sources and can easily be stored and transported around the world. Since methanol is a liquid fuel at atmospheric pressure, the worldwide infrastructure currently used for fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline can be reused for methanol with only minor adjustments and low investment costs to follow. Unlike combustion engines, the fuel cell system has zero harmful emissions, thereby providing a solution to the massive air pollution problems cities around the world are currently facing and working to overcome.
