Ceres Power Holdings plc, an expert in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and electrochemical technology, and AVL List GmbH, the worldleading automotive technology developer, announce a new collaborative partnership. This strategic cooperation enables both companies to optionally use a combination of their individual IP (intellectual property) portfolios of SOFC systems to provide new solutions and jointly license them to a wider range of customers.
The trend towards decarbonization of the world’s energy- and mobility system is unstoppable. Various energy and technology pathways have to be pursued to achieve net zero CO2. SOFC represents one of the most energy efficient X-to-Power technology available today. As an energy conversion system, SOFC offers a wide range of fuel options during the energy transition phase and also full compatibility with all future renewable fuels across various industry segments like power generation, combined heat & power and transport applications.
Ceres with its leading position in metal-supported SOFC technology is an ideal partner for AVL. Both Ceres and AVL cover broad technology and application areas with their individual extensive background IP. By applying their respective SOFC systems IP pools in the context of this new collaboration, cutting-edge solutions can be realized and jointly licensed to customers seeking competitive new energy products. In this collaboration, Ceres provides primarily cell and stack technology while AVL will contribute application, integration and system know-how. Together, AVL and Ceres will extend their market reach, in particular by Ceres benefiting from the AVL’s global engineering presence and also its extensive business development resources.
In the framework of this collaboration, jointly developed IP will be pooled together and may be combined with each party’s independent background IP to present one of the most comprehensive IP portfolios for SOFC systems in the world. Ceres and AVL will, jointly or individually, be able market and identify opportunities to license SOFC technology. It is intended to expand the number of products in the area of energy and power generation, marine and other transportation applications. The agreement does not affect existing or future programs with current partners.
Phil Caldwell, Chief Executive at Ceres: “The potential for Ceres’ technology to play a role in the decarbonization of the global energy system is substantial, and this collaboration with AVL is a significant step in our strategy to accelerate its adoption in an expanded number of applications and markets. As a licensing business, our ability to scale depends on successfully embedding our technology with a greater number of customers and AVL’s global footprint, engineering scale and track-record in the fuel cell market, makes them an ideal partner for Ceres.”
Georg List, Vice President Corporate Strategy at AVL: “We are looking forward to partnering with Ceres. We trust we can jointly make SOFC technology available for new and leading-edge solutions. AVL’s broad competence portfolio for SOFC systems and our engineering and integration capabilities – paired with Ceres’ unique technology and solutions portfolio – will ensure a compelling joint offering in this fast-growing market.”