Adar Poonawalla backed fuel cell maker h2e Power acquires Swiss firm Hexis AG

HIGHLIGHTS

• Fuel cells are clean energy alternative to fossil fuels
• h2e Power makes Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) for residential, industrial and commercial applications
• To build large manufacturing capacity in Pune for India and global markets
• Acquisition to expand the Hexis product portfolio to applications in agriculture, oil & gas and telecom
• Acquisition to create a global footprint, h2e already has base in the US and Germany, besides Pune

Pune based Poonawalla Group backed Indian clean-tech startup h2e Power has acquired Swiss fuel cell specialist Hexis AG. The deal has been closed through its German subsidiary mPower GmbH from the German climate and energy solutions focussed Viessmann Group. The company didn't disclose the deal amount.

The acquisition is to create a global footprint and produce zero emission power generators from Pune and to create an India owned global fuel cell and green hydrogen company. Plans are to build large manufacturing capacity in Pune for the  Indian and global markets, said Adar Poonawalla, chairman, h2e Power Systems.

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"We will create a global footprint and locally produce zero emission power generators in Pune and intend to reach every home, every commercial establishment and every city with our hydrogen and fuel cell technologies," said Poonawalla.

The fuel cell technology is considered to be a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels for the future, with high volume manufacturing possibilities and less cost of production. h2e Power makes Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), a type of fuel cells that generates clean power and has a wide variety of residential, industrial and commercial applications, with outputs varying from few watts to megawatt (MW).

SOFC uses a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. It causes electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen ions with hydrogen or carbon monoxide to create energy. These are at very high temperatures, typically between 700 and 900 degrees Celsius can be channelised as energy. Additionally, the system can be used in Solid Oxide Electrolyser (SOEC) mode to produce green hydrogen, which can be stored easily like in a battery.

h2e subsidiary mPower based in Dresden, Germany, commercialises the high temperature SOFC stacks under global exclusive license from Fraunhofer Institute (IKTS) using ceramic components.

Siddharth R Mayur, founder and managing director of h2e Power said apart from the real estate, commercial and green hydrogen markets, the acquisition will help the company expand the Hexis product portfolio to applications in agriculture, oil & gas and telecom.

Terms of the acquisition also include future cooperation with Viessmann group for the supply of SOFC fuel cell modules for heating applications in individual homes and commercial establishments in the European markets. The Viessmann group is one of the largest integrators of heating systems in Europe.

h2e Power Systems was founded in 2011 by social entrepreneur Siddharth R Mayur along with Amar Chakradeo, and Bhavana S Mayur  to produce and integrate futuristic fuel cell systems for residential construction, energy engineering, agriculture and waste management.

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