Quantron and Ballard Power Systems introduce fuel cell powered trucks

Augsburg, Germany- Quantron AG's., partnership between the Ballard Power System and the two companies, which was announced in September 2021, has sparked advances in the industry. By combining Ballard's innovative fuel cell technology with QUANTRON's expertise in vehicle structure, the companies have developed their first fuel cell electric vehicles.

QUANTRON vehicles use high performance FCmove fuel cell modules from Ballard. These include the QUANTRON QLI FCEV light truck and the 44-ton QUANTRON QHM FCEV heavy-duty truck, which is the current European range champion with 54 KG H2 at 700 bar.  Compared to battery electric models, the range of both zero-emission vehicles is greater and the refilling time is shorter.

A component of QUANTRON's design is the full integration of all fuel cell components into the frame structure of the QHM FCEV and QLI FCEV, meaning that no compromises need to be made in terms of trailer length and payload and that conventional bodybuilder develop structures can be used, just like in their Diesel partners.

At the IAA Transportation 2022 trade show, the QUANTRON QHM FCEV made its debut and received positive feedback. The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel said that "David is faster than Goliath" in a comparison to established automakers, demonstrating the great accomplishments that can be reached through strategic alliances of leading businesses in their respective industries.

Mr. Tim Sautter, Team Lead Q-Light & Corporate PM said,  We are extremely proud to have achieved this important milestone together with Ballard. The collaboration between the engineering teams in Augsburg (Bavaria) and Vancouver (Canada) has been exceptional. We shortened the overall process from feasibility study to delivery to 18 months, bringing the QUANTRON QLI FCEV on the road and in customers hands in record time. This led to a superior product, where the fuel cell system is optimized for the individual vehicle based on customer use-cases.

Mr. Randy MacEwen, CEO, Ballard Power Systems said, We’re excited to see the partnership with QUANTRON expand into the light-duty vehicle segment and increase fuel cell deployment into the critical last-mile transport market. Combining QUANTRON and Ballard’s respective technical strengths and market expertise, our teams are committed to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen mobility in the freight sector by bringing high-performing fuel cell engines to market.

Hydrogen as source of clean energy has become increasingly raise in this year, particularly in the CV sector. For this reason, Ballard became one of the founding members of the Clean Transportation Alliance, launched by QUANTRON, aiming to zero emission transport solutions with a special focus on the hydrogen value chain.

The Clean Transportation Alliance features tech companies from the production, transport and dispensing of green hydrogen. Ballard will continue to play an important role in the alliance, driving the adoption of fuel cell systems in next generation transport solutions forward.

An European customer already took delivery of the first five units with one unit having accomplished 15.000 km in daily operations in a trial with the customer.

Mr. Michael Perschke, CEO of Quantron AG said, We take immense pride in our accomplishment, having jointly developed market-ready FCEV vehicles. Both Ballard and QUANTRON mastered this in record time. This is not only first to market in the 7.5 t FCEV light vehicle segment, but we take the lead in the fuel cell technology market. We have an order and offer pipeline of up to 100 units.