Bosch to strengthen strategic collaboration with fuel-cell expert Ceres Power by increasing its stake

[Press release, Bosch, LINK]

• Bosch to increase its stake in Ceres Power to circa 18 percent.
• Two steps necessary: share subscription and purchase of existing shares.
• Strengthens already successful partnership.

Stuttgart, Germany, and Horsham, U.K. – Bosch has today, January 22, 2020, increased its stake in Ceres Power from 3.9 percent to circa 18 percent. The stake increase is achieved through a subscription by Bosch for new Ceres Power shares, as well as the purchase of further shares from existing shareholders. Bosch’s total investment will be approximately 90 million euros. To enhance the strategic investment and the strength of the partnership, under the terms of the transaction, Bosch is granted the right to appoint a Non-Executive Director to the board of Ceres Power. 

Photo credit: Bosch

Since signing a strategic agreement in August 2018, Bosch and Ceres have been successfully collaborating in the development of fuel-cell stacks for stationary applications. This enabled Bosch to start initial low-volume production of pilot fuel-cell systems in autumn 2019 in Germany. It is intended that the increased stake will further support the collaboration towards future potential scale up and mass manufacture of the Ceres SteelCell® for multiple applications including small power stations to be used in cities, factories, data centers and charge points for electric vehicles.

“ Bosch strongly believes that the highly efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has an important role to play in energy systems’ security of supply and flexibility ”
Dr. Christian Fischer, member of the Bosch management board

“Bosch strongly believes that the highly efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has an important role to play in energy systems’ security of supply and flexibility,” says Dr. Christian Fischer, member of the Bosch management board responsible for the Energy and Building Technology business sector. “Bosch, together with our development partner Ceres Power, has made good progress in the development of fuel-cell stacks for stationary power applications. With this enlarged investment in Ceres Power, we intend to further strengthen our successful collaboration with our development partner Ceres Power.”

“We welcome this further investment by Bosch which will support the continued evolution of our technology as we look to play an increasingly prominent role in tackling climate change and building a sustainable energy system for the future. We have established a successful partnership with Bosch by combining Ceres’ unique SteelCell® technology with Bosch’s engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain strength. This new investment will allow us to build on the strong momentum we have generated in recent years to further scale the business and expand into new applications,” says Phil Caldwell, the CEO of Ceres Power.

Ceres Power is a leading player in the development of next-generation SOFC technology. Its strategy is to commercialize its technology through licensing for mass production with partners, and to use this technology for grid-based and distributed power generation. The Board of Directors of Ceres Power believes there is significant future value for shareholders in broadening the application of Ceres Power’s technology, further strengthening its relationship with Bosch. Both parties believe that this transaction demonstrates the commitment to the partnership.

Viking Energy - a Offshore Vessel to Run on Ammonia-Powered Fuel Cell

[By The Maritime Executive 01-25-2020 07:21:41 ] The ShipFC consortium has been awarded €10 million ($11 million) in funding from the European Union to install the world’s first ammonia-powered fuel cell on a vessel.

The consortium consists of 14 European companies and institutions, co-ordinated by the Norwegian cluster organisation NCE Maritime CleanTech, and has been awarded backing from the E.U.’s Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020 under its Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).

The project will see an offshore vessel, Viking Energy, which is owned and operated by Eidesvik and on contract to energy major Equinor, have a large 2MW ammonia fuel cell retrofitted, allowing it to sail solely on the clean fuel for up to 3,000 hours annually. As such the project aims to demonstrate that long-range zero-emission voyages with high power on larger ships is possible. The goal is also to ensure that a large fuel cell can deliver total electric power to shipboards systems safely and effectively. 

Full article: LINK

First hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system launched in France

Electrive reports (LINK) that the first hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has gone live in Pau, in the south of France. It is called Fébus and launched with the roll-out of a fleet of eight 18m Van Hool Exqui-City FC buses, serving a special six km route. The fuel cell technology for the buses, which also feature batteries, comes from Ballard Power Systems. The 18-metre-long articulated buses offer space for 125 passengers and can cover more than 300 kilometres per hydrogen filling.

Youtube.com

More information: LINK

Earlier this year Flixbus Germany said that it has begun talks with bus manufacturers about the introduction of hydrogen models to their fleat (LINK).

“After being the first to successfully launch three fully electric buses, we now want to develop the first long-distance buses powered by fuel cells, along with Freudenberg technology, to mark another milestone in the history of mobility,” said André Schwämmlein, founder and CEO of FlixMobility.

Background Bus rapid transit (WIKI-LINK): Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to improve capacity and reliability relative to a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses, and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or purchasing fares. BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a metro with the flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system.

The first BRT system was the Rede Integrada de Transporte ('Integrated Transportation Network') in Curitiba, Brazil, which entered service in 1974.

As of March 2018, a total of 166 cities in six continents have implemented BRT systems, accounting for 4,906 km (3,048 mi) of BRT lanes and about 32.2 million passengers every day, of which about 19.6 million passengers ride daily in Latin America, which has the most cities with BRT systems, with 54, led by Brazil with 21 cities. The Latin American countries with the most daily ridership are Brazil (10.7M), Colombia (3.06M), and Mexico (2.5M). In the other regions, China (4.3M) and Iran (2.1M) also stand out. Currently, TransJakarta is considered as the largest BRT network in the world with approximately 251.2 kilometres (156.1 mi) of corridors connecting the Indonesian capital city.

Robert Bosch GmbH aqcuires shares in PowerCell Sweden AB

[Press Release, PowerCell AB LINK] PowerCell Sweden AB has been informed that the German company Robert Bosch GmbH has acquired all Midroc New Technology’s shares in PowerCell Sweden AB. In total 5,848,531 shares, representing 11.3 percent of the votes and capital in PowerCell, has been acquired. 

Midroc New Technology is a venture capital company within Midroc Europe, an international company group headquartered in Stockholm. Midroc New Technology has been an owner in PowerCell since 2008 but has gradually decreased its ownership in the company over the last couple of years.