Ballard launches 9th generation high-performance fuel cell engine for heavy-duty vehicles at ACT Expo 2024

Ballard Power Systems has unveiled its ninth generation, high-performance fuel cell engine, the FCmove^®-XD, at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Ballard is exhibiting at Booth 1821 from May 21-23, 2024.

The FCmove®-XD delivers the highest volumetric power density in the industry for heavy-duty applications, featuring an engine volumetric power density of 0.36kW/L and gravimetric power density of 0.48kW/kg. The scalable 120kW fuel cell engine integrates DC/DC regulated output, enabling up to three modules to operate as one system with a single interface, capable of delivering a combined 360kW of zero-emission power output.

“We are laser focused on strengthening the economic value proposition for heavy-duty mobility customers. With the unveiling of our ninth generation of fuel cell engine – the FCmove^®-XD – we continue to push the boundaries and are once again raising the bar and re-setting the industry standard for PEM fuel cell engine performance. Our innovative FCmove^®-XD delivers significant improvements in reliability, durability, efficiency, power density, scalability, serviceability, and total cost of ownership.”

Mircea Gradu Chief Engineering Officer, Ballard

With a design life of 30,000+ hours of operation - or over one million miles in truck operation at typical duty cycles - the FCmove®-XD engine is developed to deliver class-leading durability and low total cost of ownership.

Enabled by an innovative “open architecture” design and other new design advances, the powerful and compact FCmove^®-XD enables several important performance improvements, including:

• 120kW power output from our latest high-performance single stack
• 33% reduction in total parts count, significantly improving reliability and reducing costs
• Ultra-high peak system efficiency at >60%, enabling improved fuel consumption (lower total cost of ownership) and efficient heat rejection
• Wide operating temperature range, up to 95°C
• Integrated power controller incorporates DC/DC converter, air compressor inverter, and a power distribution unit, along with proprietary software controls, enables improved engine operation and efficiency
• Rapid up and down transient times, with an innovative hot stand-by mode enabling rapid power increase
• Improved manufacturability with >50% assembly time reduction
• Easier access to parts for faster and lower-cost field maintenance
• Compliance with applicable safety codes and standards

“The power and performance requirements of the highly-segmented truck market are particularly demanding due to various use cases, including high vehicle utilization rates and payload requirements. One of the compelling features of our new FCmove^®-XD is scalability based on modularity. We can offer customers efficient integration of 120kW, 240kW, and 360kW solutions dependent on truck class, use case, and duty cycle. For example, two engines, totalling 240kW of power output, can be easily installed in the engine compartment of a typical Class 8 heavy-duty truck, enhancing standardization and redundancy.”

Silvano Pozzi Vice President, Product Line Management, Ballard

In addition to its in-house FCmove^®-XD innovations and design improvements over the past three years, Ballard has enjoyed strong collaboration with a maturing supply chain on new balance of plant component designs and related non-recurring engineering. Collectively, these integrated and parallel work streams have resulted in a category leader, boasting higher performance on all key metrics with significantly lower capital cost and operating costs for customers and end users.  

Ballard plans to initially manufacture the FCmove^®-XD at its Oregon facility, enabling “Buy America” compliance starting in 2025, with future high-volume manufacturing expected at Ballard Rockwall Giga 1, Ballard’s recently announced 3GW Gigafactory planned to be built in Rockwall, Texas.