Development is the last word! The core technology of my country's fuel power battery 'be self-reliant'

Recently, the news of the establishment of a strategic partnership between Ballard Power Systems, a Canadian clean energy company, and Weichai Power Co., Ltd. has attracted much attention. It is reported that Weichai Power will invest 163 million US dollars to subscribe for 19.9% u200bu200bof the shares of the former, becoming the largest single investor of the former. At the same time, the two companies will establish a joint venture in Shandong, with Weichai Power holding 51% and Ballard holding 49%, to develop and process 'hydrogen fuel cell power system products' for use in the Chinese market. At the same time, the joint venture company will have the exclusive rights to Ballard's next-generation stack and module technology products in the Chinese market. Weichai Power's heavy bet on fuel power cell technology has aroused widespread concern and discussion in the industry. Insiders believe that Ballard has been deeply involved in the field of fuel power batteries for nearly 30 years and has a global leader in technology. Weichai Power will cooperate with it. If it can complete the transfer of cutting-edge technology and integrate global resources, it will be beneficial to the domestic fuel power battery electric vehicle market. , The new energy automobile industry has sprung up and promoted. However, another voice of concern has also caused the industry to rethink: Can the core technology of fuel power cells really be bought? Many people in the industry said that reviewing Ballard’s many cooperations with Chinese companies since 2013, whether it is the labor-intensive technology transfer of module assembly, or the high-tech technology transfer of bipolar plate and stack processing, Ballard Germany has always held the core 'membrane electrode technology' in its hands and is not open to the outside world. 'There are two most critical core component technologies in fuel power cell stacks: bipolar plates and membrane electrodes.' The relevant person in charge of my country Automobile Industry Association said that in terms of bipolar plates, Guangdong Guohong Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. It has spent 20 million US dollars to purchase it. At present, the 10,000-unit processing line has been completed and reached production. The product quality has reached Ballard's quality control requirements. In terms of 'membrane electrodeTechnology authorization. As a result, the problem of being constrained by others still exists. Therefore, in order to break through the bottleneck of the development of fuel power cells, the importance of independent and controllable core technology is self-evident. 'It's worth noting that Ballard's technology transfer strategy is'one woman, marry many', that is, multiple licenses for the same product.' CIC consultant analyst said, for example, HD-85, an 85kW module product, has been authorized to 4 The Chinese companies are Guohong Hydrogen Energy, Dayang Electric, Nantong Zehe, and Bikong Hydrogen; the 30/60kW module products are licensed to 2 Chinese companies, namely Guohong Hydrogen and Dayang Electric. 'This can easily lead to price wars for the aforementioned companies, and Ballard can guarantee income from droughts and floods by selling components and collecting patent fees.' According to Ballard's official data, the company has cooperated with Chinese companies many times since 2013. Obtain at least 440 million U.S. dollars in revenue. The sources of income include technology transfer authorization, equity investment, module sales and membrane electrode sales. Among them, the revenue of technology transfer authorization is 168 million U.S. dollars, and the products involve exclusive stack authorization, base station backup power supply, 85kW fuel power cell module, and 30/60kW fuel power cell module. According to expert analysis, what Weichai Power purchased this time is the exclusive processing of Ballard's 'Next Generation LCS Stack' and the authorization of assembly based on LCS fuel power cell modules. However, the 'next-generation LCS stack' technology has not yet taken shape and is expected to be officially announced at the end of 2019. However, compared with the existing 9SSL stack, the technology has greatly improved performance, life and cost. “Previously, the joint venture of Guohong Hydrogen Energy has invested heavily in the purchase of Ballard’s previous generation of 9SSL stack processing technology. Therefore, the introduction of new technologies will have an impact on manufacturers who have purchased the old technology. Guohong Hydrogen’s 9SSL Products will be more difficult to face domestic competition in the same industry.' A person in charge of a new energy vehicle company said that Guohong Hydrogen’s joint venture and Ballard have signed an exclusive membrane electrode supply agreement totaling at least US$150 million for 5 years in the future. Every year, there is an obligation to purchase minimum quantities of membrane electrodes. 'Whether the embarrassment that Guohong Hydrogen Energy is facing today will become a problem for the Weichai Ballard joint venture company to face tomorrow? It is worth pondering. Under the premise of partnership, maintain Ru0026D investment, accelerate the localization of key technologies, and gradually get rid of the dilemma of being constrained by others. Only under the premise of independence, self-reliance and self-reliance of my country's fuel power battery core technology, the domestic fuel power battery industry can break through the shackles and achieve greater development.