Ballard announces multi-year fuel cell supply agreement with Plug Power for forklift market

Ballard Power Systems has announced it has signed a long term supply agreement with Plug Power to provide fuel cell stacks for use in GenDrive systems deployed in forklift trucks.

The new supply agreement replaces an existing agreement and creates the opportunity for Ballard to remain in a leading supply position for fuel cell stacks in Plug Power’s GenDrive systems. The new agreement is effective immediately and runs to the end of 2017, with the provision for two one-year extensions.

This new supply agreement encompasses the same Ballard fuel cell stack products that the Company has been providing to Plug Power in past years, which serve Class 3 pallet jacks, Class 2 reach trucks and Class 1 counterbalanced lift trucks.

Steve Karaffa, Ballard’s chief commercial officer said, “We are very pleased to conclude this important supply agreement with Plug Power, which will ensure the continuation of the longstanding partnership between the two companies in support of accelerating growth in a key fuel cell market.”

Keith Schmid, Plug Power’s chief operating officer added, “We are certainly pleased to have this agreement in-place, providing certainty of fuel cell stack supply as we focus on fulfilling customer orders and closing significant additional opportunities in our sales pipeline.”

Plug Power has driven accelerating growth in material handling, evidenced by new and repeat orders from end-customers like Walmart, P&G, Sysco, CVS Pharmacy, Kroger and Mercedes-Benz. These orders generated significant growth in Plug Power system shipments and revenue through the first half of 2014, along with 177% year-on-year growth in Ballard fuel cell stack revenue from material handling.

A healthy rate of growth in market demand is expected to continue and, in combination with orders for multi-year deployments already received from such customers as Walmart, Plug Power anticipates an increase in its order book for products and services to $150 million at the end of 2014, a threefold increase from the prior year.