SFC Energy, which has so far focused on methanol-powered fuel cells, intends to branch out into the hydrogen fuel market. In November 2018, the company based in Brunnthal, Germany, announced that it had signed an agreement with adKor to develop and license the required fuel cell know-how. The deal reached with adKor’s chief executive, Hartmut Kordus, will grant SFC Energy non-exclusive access to the technology of three former fuel cell companies: FutureE, Heliocentris and P21.
Kordus said, “We’ve known the technology developed by FutureE, Heliocentris and P21 for a long time and we acquired the expertise and patents of all three because, based on 30 years’ experience in telecommunications, we see great potential for fuel cells. SFC has been successful in designing and bringing to market fuel cells for demanding applications, which makes it an excellent partner for improving product quality and expanding the market.”
Peter Podesser, the chief executive of SFC Energy, added that “the entry into the hydrogen world and the new, powerful hydrogen fuel cell technology will make for an ideal offering alongside our successful direct methanol fuel cells. The high-capacity products will allow us to show our customers new areas of application and explore large new markets.” The aim was to design fuel cell systems that offered a capacity of up to 100 kilowatts and could be used especially for critical infrastructure, such as phone lines and backup generators.