Norway's HydrogenPro AS (OSE:HYPRO) has agreed to establish a majority-owned China-based joint venture (JV) with electrolyser components maker Tianjin HQY Hydrogen Machinery Co Ltd (THM) in a bid to expand its green hydrogen plant technology globally.
The first task for the JV will be to set up a factory in mainland China to manufacture 300 MW of electrolysers per year, once fully up and running, HydrogenPro said in bourse filing.
HydrogenPro will take 75% of the new entity at a total cost of NOK 48 million (USD 5.5m/EUR 4.85m), which includes a completed NOK-8-million payment and a capital injection of NOK 40 million. THM, which will get to hold the remaining 25%, will transfer employees, fixed assets and intellectual property (IP).
“This transaction gives HydrogenPro full control over IP and core electrolyser technology that is key to our global fabrication plan. The joint venture will be very cost-effective and serve clients all over the world until our global fabrication set-up is completed, complying with all regulatory standards in the relevant locations," the Norwegian company's CEO, Elling Nygaard, stated.
He added that next step will be for HydrogenPro to establish footprints outside China, based on technology and experience resulting from the JV.
The production facility, to be based in Tianjin, northeastern China, is expected to be ready for pilot production by the end of 2021 and will have substantial room for further capacity expansion.
THM, which produces electrolyser parts and systems, has expertise in manufacturing high-pressure alkaline electrolysers and has in recent years expanded its operations into the assembly and sale of complete units. This has the potential to significantly improve efficiency and lower production costs when combined with HydrogenPro's next-generation electrode technology from Denmark, according to the statement.
"We regard this moderate investment in state-of-the-art production capacity to be in line with our asset-light approach
to developing a global supply chain," Nygaard said.
(NOK 10 = USD 1.144/EUR 1.011)
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Image: HydrogenPro.
