China Hydrogen Energy and Impact Coatings partnership

2 Minutes•By NZ Trucking magazine•October 25, 2016

Swedish company Impact Coatings, the leading developer and supplier of coatings for bipolar/separator plates for fuel cells, has entered into an agreement with China Hydrogen Energy. Impact Coatings will deliver high volume coating equipment and Ceramic MaxPhase material to the Chinese fuel cell vehicle propulsion technology company based in Suzhou, China. The fuel cell power systems will be integrated into buses, trucks and cars from several leading Chinese vehicle manufacturers.

Over the past few years Impact Coatings has supplied coatings for bipolar plates to many international car OEMs. China Hydrogen Energy is building factories for volume production and has received orders from bus and truck companies to deliver fuel cell propulsion systems. With the ordered coating systems from Impact Coatings, China Hydrogen Energy will have the capacity to produce fuel cell systems for more than 20,000 vehicles a year and aims to become one of the biggest producers of fuel cell systems in China.

“China has increased its strong commitment to improve air quality and has decided to use fuel cell powered hydrogen transportation with zero-emission for the largest cities. Coating technology from Impact Coatings is the clear choice to produce the most cost-effective fuel cell systems,” says Henrik Ljungcrantz, founder and member of the board of directors at Impact Coatings.

The Ceramic MaxPhase coating enhances performance and lifetime of metal bipolar plates in fuel cells. The PVD (physical vapour deposition) coating is proven state-of- the-art technology for both proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Offering a unique combination of low contact resistance, high corrosion resistance, and low cost, it exceeds both performance and cost reduction targets set up by the US Department of Energy.