Ballard announces purchase order of 100 fuel cell engines for NFI buses in North America

Ballard has announced the signing of a new Long-Term Supply Agreement (LTSA) with independent bus and coach manufacturer NFI Group Inc. - a leader in electric mass mobility solutions in North America and Europe. The agreement marks a new phase in the established partnership between Ballard and NFI, focused on deployment-level volumes of fuel cell-powered buses across all of NFI’s major brands including New Flyer, Alexander Dennis, and MCI.

As part of the LTSA, NFI has placed its first purchase order for a minimum of 100 FCmove^®-HD+ fuel cell engines from Ballard for planned delivery in 2024. The fuel cells will primarily be produced in Ballard’s Bend, Oregon facility with Buy America compliance, and will power New Flyer’s next generation Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ hydrogen fuel cell buses for deployment across the U.S. and Canada - including California, Manitoba, Nevada, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

This latest order builds significantly to Ballard's existing partnership with New Flyer that already sees Xclesior CHARGE FC™ models on the road or soon to be in operation in locations including Arizona, Illinois and Alberta.

We are proud NFI has chosen Ballard as their committed partner for the next phase of growth in the fuel cell bus market. We believe New Flyer is well positioned to deliver deployment scale volumes of fuel cell buses, particularly in the U.S. market, where operators increasingly prefer hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses for their range, short refueling times, high availability, and cost-effective infrastructure requirements.

Dave Mucciacciaro Chief Commercial Officer, Ballard

The LTSA is the next step in the long-standing partnership between Ballard and NFI and a key component in advancing leading fuel cell electric bus offerings in critical global markets. This collaboration, across numerous bus products in multiple jurisdictions, leverages best practices and generates design, engineering and sourcing synergies. With growing demand for fuel cell buses, the partnership contributes considerably in driving the transition to zero-emission transportation worldwide.