Sunfire Fuel Cells GmbH, a German-based producer of stacks and fuel cell solutions, and Norwegian tech-company Prototech AS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the further development and scaling of Sunfire’s solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks.
A 100 percent subsidiary of Sunfire GmbH, Sunfire Fuel Cells has developed a leading SOFC stack technology, which forms the core of its off-grid power supply applications for the oil and gas industry, telecommunications, and the security sector, and micro combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cell power solutions for residential buildings.
A provider of technology development, engineering, product design, and manufacturing services for space, offshore, subsea, and maritime sector for more than 25 years, Prototech is developing clean fuel cell solutions with global shipping companies.
After multi-year evaluation phase trials with Sunfire’s SOFC, Prototech decided on the stack technology as the future platform for its fuel cell products.
This is a great next step for our strong partnership with Sunfire Fuel Cells. We have been looking for a reliable, efficient, and robust stack technology as the basis for our solutions for the maritime industry. After several years of internal testing, we now know that Sunfire offers one of the best stacks in the market and we are convinced that both of our teams will perfectly complement each other, said Bernt Skeie, CEO of Prototech.
Develop and scale next-gen SOFC stack
Combining Sunfire’s deep stack expertise with Prototech’s vast technology and manufacturing experience, the partners aim at accelerating the development and scaling of the next-generation SOFC stack.
As the core power unit, one SOFC stack consists of 30 individual cells. Sunfire’s most recent stack generation has been released in 2019 and achieves 35 percent lower degradation rates and 15 percent lower material costs than its predecessor.
According to Sunfire, its SOFC technology is one of the most reliable, robust, and efficient ones in the market. For both companies, the joint stack development is the basis to realize the mass-market rollout of their fuel cell solutions, catering to the growing global demand for fuel cells in stationary and mobile applications.
The cooperation with Prototech marks an important milestone for us. With Prototech’s expertise and technological know-how, we can not only further optimize our SOFC technology but also accelerate production and mass-market penetration. Prototech has been a reliable and competent partner of ours for years, so the decision to work more closely together was the logical next step, said Andreas Froemmel, Commercial Managing Director of Sunfire Fuel Cells.
