ABB invests in AFC Energy to advance fuel cell testing and integration

On April 16, ABB, a manufacturer of power and automation technology, announced that it had signed a strategic investment and development agreement with fuel cell company AFC Energy to further promote the integration of fuel cell technology into the high-growth eMobility and data center fields. As part of the eMobility solution and the existing data center's extensive power product portfolio, ABB and AFC Energy will collaborate on the testing and integration of fuel cells.

(Image source: AFC Energy)

In 2020, ABB announced a strategic partnership with AFC Energy to create the next generation of high-power sustainable electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for grid-constrained areas. Based on this cooperation, ABB and AFC Energy signed a new development agreement to test and design AFC Energy's alkaline fuel cell technology and integrate it into ABB's data center system portfolio.

Data centers are currently used for data storage and processing requirements around the world, and the goal of the collaboration is to provide zero-emission, sustainable, turnkey power solutions for the growing current and expected data centers. End-user spending on global data center infrastructure is expected to grow 6% by 2021 over the previous year.

Frank Muehlon, President of ABB's eMobility division, said: "The investment in AFC Energy provides an opportunity to further advance innovative technologies that can provide wider coverage to remote areas. AFC Energy's clean energy solutions goals are fully aligned with ABB's commitment to innovation and support a low-carbon society, making them a perfect solutions partner."

In addition to the eMobility collaboration, the two companies will also work together to evaluate data center power design principles and system operability, and review the interfaces between fuel cells, energy storage, electrical equipment, switchgear and control infrastructure. Both parties will use real-time data center simulation technology testing methods.

Brian Johnson, head of ABB’s Data Center division, said: “This collaboration will provide an opportunity to integrate AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology with ABB’s data center solutions. Working with like-minded companies like AFC Energy will further support ABB’s continued commitment to developing cutting-edge technologies that can help data center customers achieve their sustainability goals through a multi-fuel approach.”