Ballard to use Forsee Power battery systems in refuse collection vehicles

Forsee Power (an expert in smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility) announces that Ballard Motive Solutions (a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems) has placed an order to equip 20 zero-emission Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCV) with Forsee Power battery systems.

This comes as a result of the strategic partnership that was announced last November, ahead of Forsee Power’s IPO, in which Ballard Power Systems invested.

In November 2021, Forsee Power and Ballard announced a strategic partnership to develop a fully integrated solution combining a fuel cell and battery system, optimized to meet the needs of targeted medium and heavy-duty mobility markets of bus, truck, rail, marine, and off-road.

Since then, the two companies’ R&D teams have been working to co-design a solution to address the heavy vehicle segment.

With complementary technologies, customers, verticals and markets, the Ballard and Forsee Power partnership is expected to increase technological performance, optimize costs, extend service life, and reduce customer friction points by providing pre-integrated and optimized electric powertrain solutions.

Moreover, the two innovative companies will benefit from their mutual customer access in the medium and heavy vehicle market segments, accelerating business development opportunities in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Formerly Arcola Energy, which Ballard Power Systems acquired in 2021, Ballard Motive Solutions (BMS) is a UK-based systems engineering company specializing in hydrogen fuel cell powertrain and vehicle systems integration. BMS has developed an RCV solution integrating a Ballard fuel cell and Forsee Power high-power PULSE 2.5 battery systems, optimizing efficiency for both technologies. The extra-thin battery packs will easily integrate the vehicle’s chassis, optimizing space aboard and allowing 160-km autonomy and a maximum speed of 90 km/h, meeting operators’ needs.

Ballard’s expertise is PEM fuel cells and powertrain systems integration and Forsee Power’s deep knowledge in smart battery systems enables us to provide our clients’ products with enhanced performance, optimized costs and extended service life.

Sébastien Rembauville-Nicolle, Vice President of Business Development of Forsee Power, said, “The aim of our partnership with Ballard is not only to optimize the combination of fuel cell with batteries, but also to facilitate their integration into heavy vehicles, and thus significantly lowering the barriers to quickly transition to zero-emission technologies.”

Ben Todd, CEO of Ballard Motive Solutions, said, “Ballard’s partnership with Forsee Power allows us to provide customers with an integrated product to reduce their friction points for the adoption of our zero-emission technology.”