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Plug Power Starts Market Launch of New Heavy-Duty Hydrogen Engine

Latham, USA / Münster, Germany - Technologies for green hydrogen and fuel cells are considered tob e an important component of the global energy turnaround despite the current higher cost level. The share price of fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power, which has started the market launch of a new hydrogen engine, is also benefiting from this.

Plug Power, the US fuel cell manufacturer listed in the RENIXX World regenerative share index, has announced the market launch of its Progen 125 kW high-performance hydrogen engine. The new engine extends Plug Power's market reach in the field of heavy-duty vehicles for on- and off-road applications. According to Plug Power, this category includes US Class 6, 7 and 8 trucks, transit buses and various vehicles for port applications.

Plug Powers Progen units are designed to be "plug and play" complete fuel cell systems. Delivery of the high-performance engines is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2020. The launch of the 125 kW engine follows the successful introduction of the 30 kW Progen hydrogen engine in April 2019. The 30 kW engine, suited for delivery vans or light to medium cargo trucks, is being used in StreetScooter fuel cell-powered trucks for on-road in use by DHL, according to the fuel cell manufacturer.

"This product launch represents a significant expansion of our ProGen line to support heavy duty vehicle (HDV) applications,“ said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. Marsh is optimistic, that the product will positively impact the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell technology in both on- and off-road electric vehicle fleets. The compact 125 kW Progen engines are available for various output voltage levels, are equipped with cold start capability and an intelligent can bus interface for seamless OEM integration. The modular Progen engines are also designed to meet a wide range of power needs, including those of large stationary backup systems, so they can be used in various applications, the fuel cell specialist says.

With regard to the potential of hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems in the transport sector, Plug Power refers to McKinsey's "Roadmap to a US Hydrogen Economy". According to this, the transport sector is responsible for one third of US CO2 emissions. According to McKinsey, light and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles represent a competitive mobility solution with total cost of ownership expected to break even as early as 2025.

Already in 2019, the RENIXX World listed fuel cell manufacturers Plug Power (annual increase 2019: 144.8 percent) and Ballard Power (annual increase 2019: 188.3 percent) were among the top RENIXX shares of the year. And this trend is continuing unabated in 2020. Since the beginning of the year, the price of Plug Power has risen by more than 70 percent to currently EUR 4.866 (as of 19.02.2020, 10:40 a.m., Stuttgart Stock Exchange). Ballard Power's current price of 12.055 euros even represents an annual increase of 88 per cent (as at: 19.02.2020, 10:38 a.m., Stuttgart stock exchange).



Source: IWR Online, 19 Feb 2020

 


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