Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ AG invest in Blue World Technologies

In October 2021, it was announced that Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ AG started a due diligence process with the intention to invest in the Danish fuel cell developer and manufacturer, Blue World Technologies. This process has now been completed and Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ are therefore each investing €7.5 million in the company. With Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ as investors, Blue World Technologies is also in a strong position concerning a potential stock exchange listing in the future.

Since the beginning of 2021, Blue World Technologies has been working to establish a factory to produce the core components for the fuel cell stacks and systems at the company’s headquarters in Aalborg, Denmark. During the year, the company has insourced the entire production of membranes, electrodes and separator plates. With the new investment, it will work towards starting serial production to get ready to send fuel cells and systems to industries around the world.

With an expectation of producing 500 MW fuel cells at the factory in Aalborg, Denmark when the full production capacity is achieved within the next couple of years, the company takes a big step towards getting the methanol fuel cell technology out on the market, where it will contribute to reducing both CO₂ and air pollution.

The promising potential and innovative technology has contributed to the company now closing the investment round.

The investment from Vaekstfonden is supported by the European Investment Bank with the backing of the EU through EFSI.

Contributing to the green agenda

The 8500 m² production building that Blue World Technologies took over in February 2021, will be one of the world's largest fuel cell factories within high-temperature PEM technology. At the factory, methanol fuel cell stacks and systems will be manufactured for a wide variety of industries within the stationary and the transportation sector, where it will act as a green alternative to conventional combustion engines or generators.

For the past couple of years, the global interest in Power-to-X, where electricity is transformed into fuels that can be used in the transportation sector, has increased significantly. World-leading players throughout the Power-to-X value-chain have invested heavily throughout the methanol value-chain, from production to utilisation. Earlier in 2021 A.P. Moller – Maersk announced that it will operate the world’s first carbon-neutral liner vessel by 2023 and later announced that in 2024 it will introduce the first of eight large ocean-going container vessels, all powered by methanol.

On the production side of renewable methanol, larger projects are being announced. Recently, it was Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a fund management company focused on renewable energy infrastructure, that announced a collaboration on building one of the world’s first commercial Power-to-X plants where methanol is to be produced from waste CO₂ and green electricity.

Blue World Technologies, which is part of the utilisation in the Power-to-X value-chain, is also experiencing increasing interest and is currently working together with several leading OEMs on system development within a wide variety of industries e.g., within the transportation sector where the methanol fuel cell technology has a large potential.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/24122021/vaekstfonden-and-deutz-ag-invest-in-blue-world-technologies/