Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation
TypeJoint venture
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1 February 2008
DefunctJune 2018 (2018-06)
FateDefunct, most of its equipment sold to Ballard Power Systems
Headquarters
Vancouver
,
Canada
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsFuel cells
OwnerFord Motor Company (49.9%)
Mercedes-Benz Group (50.1%)

Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC) was a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, based automotive fuel cell technology company. The company was formed on February 1, 2008 [1] as a spin-off from its predecessor, Ballard Power Systems to allow for further expansion of fuel cell technology.[2][3] After the split, Ballard continued as a publicly traded company focusing on non-automotive applications (including buses), while AFCC became a privately held company of 150 employees, developing hydrogen fuel cell stacks for automobiles. AFCC's initial ownership split was Daimler (50.1%), Ford Motor Company (30.0%), and Ballard itself (19.9%).[4]

Ford Motor Company purchased the portion of AFCC owned by Ballard Power Systems in 2009 for $44.5M in gross proceeds, leaving it with 49.9% ownership, and Daimler AG (at present the Mercedes-Benz Group) as the major stakeholder with 50.1%.[5][6]

An AFCC stack was used in the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell vehicle in 2010.[7]

In 2013, AFCC's owners signed a three-way agreement with Nissan Motor Company to develop next-generation fuel cell technology that they hope will lead to the world's first affordable, mass-market fuel cell electric vehicles as early as 2017. The collaboration was to be jointly led by all three automakers with engineering work taking place at various locations around the world. AFCC was responsible for the research and product development of automotive fuel cell stacks for the collaboration.

The company's first CEO was Dr. Andreas Truckenbrodt formerly the executive director for hybrid development for Daimler AG. He led AFCC for more than 6 years from company inception through February 2014.

AFCC ended operations in June 2018, with much of the equipment was sold to Ballard Power Systems in July 2018.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "AFCC Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation". Archived from the original on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  2. ↑ Automotive Tech: "The Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC)" Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine - technologynewsdaily.com - November 8, 2007 - Retrieved November 08, 2007
  3. ↑ "Daimler AG to become majority stake holder in new ”Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation”" - Daimler AG - November 8, 2007 - Retrieved November 08, 2007
  4. ↑ "Daimler, Ford Teaming Up On Fuel Cells". Jalopnik. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ballard Monetizes Non-Core Investment for $44.5 Million". Ballard Power Systems. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, About Us". AFCC web site. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL vehicles make their Canadian premiere in Vancouver". Bloomberg (press release). 16 Feb 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ballard Acquires Fuel Cell Assets From AFCC to Support Planned Growth". www.ballard.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
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