Ballard Power awarded $40M in Department of Energy grants

Ballard Power has received notification from the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the Department of Energy – DOE – that Ballard’s applications for two grants totaling $40M under the Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis, Manufacturing, and Recycling Program have been selected and recommended for negotiation of financial awards. The grants will support Ballard’s construction and build-out of an integrated fuel cell production Gigafactory based in Rockwall, Texas. In Phase I, Ballard plans to invest approximately $160M net of the $40M in expected DOE grants, from 2024 through the end of 2027 to build and commission a new manufacturing facility with annual production capacity of 8 million membrane electrode assemblies, 8 million bipolar plates, 20,000 fuel cell stacks, and up to 20,000 fuel cell engines per year, or the equivalent of 3 gigawatts of fuel cells. The land acquisition rights and facility design provide Ballard with optionality for additional future phases at the Rockwall site. Ballard expects to make a final investment decision on this facility later in 2024. The $40M in total DOE grants comprise a $30M grant relating to advanced proton exchange membrane MEAs and automated stack assembly, with the additional $10M grant relating to a next-generation flexible graphite bipolar plate manufacturing line.