A new joint venture aimed at mass producing and commercialising fuel cell power systems for the Chinese Telecom market has been formed by Element 1 Corp and China Aqueous Group.
This venture will combine e1’s proprietary hydrogen generation technology, and CAG’s hydrogen and fuel cell electrical generators to create power solutions for telecom base stations located throughout China.
Aqueous Hydrogen Energy Limited (AHE) will be headquartered in Hong Kong and will produce, market, and sell hydrogen generators under a royalty bearing technology licensing agreement with e1. AHE will allow e1 to focus on advancing its existing best-of-breed hydrogen generation technology, while China Aqueous Group will leverage its hydrogen and fuel cell technology, manufacturing capability, as well as marketing and sales channels.
Production will take place in both Hong Kong and mainland China. China Aqueous Group and e1’s ownership stake in the newly formed AHE will be 70% and 30% respectively. With the strong alliance, AHE will develop new hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and products suitable for the China market, allowing more people to benefit from the innovations in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
Dr. David Edlund, Chairman and CEO of Element 1 Corp, said, “Our relationship with China Aqueous Group allows us to jointly address the power needs of the roughly three-million cellular base stations installed throughout China. Electricity from fuel cells utilising hydrogen produced onsite is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to provide this power.”
He added: “China is demonstrating an impressive commitment to deploying sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of producing energy, as evidenced by the recent announcement from the country’s energy agency that it plans to spend $361 billion on renewable power generation by 2020.”
Dr. Hua Xiang, Chairman of China Aqueous Group (CAG), said: “This strategic partnership, which leverages each company’s respective strengths, will help us bring a very compelling fuel cell product to the Chinese Telecom Industry. China shows tremendous promise in the near future for fuel cell deployments based on both Chinese policy development and related aggressive investment in fuel cell related technologies and applications. We estimate the demand for AHE fuel cell power systems to be greater than 10,000 units annually within the next four to five years.”
