(Vancouver, Canada / Bussnang, Switzerland / Shanghai, China) – Canada's Ballard Power Systems Inc. enters into a contract with Stadler Rail AG to supply fuel cell engines to power the first hydrogen train in the United States. According to the information, the Swiss rail vehicle manufacturer has entrusted the fuel cell manufacturer with the delivery of six 100 kilowatt motors of the type “FCmove-HD+”.
Stadler received the order to deliver the train from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA). The rail vehicle is scheduled to enter service in San Bernardino, California, in 2024 and will be able to carry more than 100 passengers.
Stadler had previously signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). There is an option for another 25 trains to be used in California.
Stadler had already sold a hydrogen-powered passenger train called “FLIRT H2019” to the San Bernardino County Transit Authority in 2. The basic model “FLIRT” is a single-story multiple unit for local and long-distance transport, which is offered purely electrically and as a diesel hybrid. “In the USA, only a few railway lines are electrified,” says Martin Ritter, Managing Director of Stadler US Inc. Therefore, rail vehicles “with sustainable drive solutions are particularly important” there.
New China headquarters decided
Ballard Power announced in a separate statement that it would invest around $130 million (134 million euros) in China over the next three years. 
The company has reached an agreement with the government of Anting in Shanghai's Jiading District to build its new China headquarters, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) manufacturing facility and a research and development center at Jiading Hydrogen Port. This is strategically located “in one of the leading clusters of the Chinese automotive industry”.
The MEA production capacity is around 13 million units, which can supply 20.000 engines. The facility also offers space for the assembly of approximately 600 engines for the rail, marine, off-road and local markets. Commissioning is scheduled for 2025.
A further 40.000 stacks and 20.000 engines for the bus, truck and forklift market are to be manufactured at a plant of the Weichai-Ballard (WBJV) joint venture in Weifang in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. Weichai Power is taking a two percent equity stake in Ballard's new MEA factory in Shanghai.
Demand in China is increasing
“We believe China will experience a significant increase in demand as hydrogen infrastructure expands in the coming years and our new MEA production facility comes online,” says Ballard CEO Randy MacEwen. They are convinced that medium-duty and heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles will become established in the country in the long term.
Ballard had already expanded its MEA production in Canada last year. The new corporate strategy called “local for local” is intended to expand the global presence in Europe, North America and China.
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Ballard is to supply engines for Stadler's hydrogen trains in the USA. © Stadler
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Ballard Power announces million-dollar investments in China. © Ballard Power
