HydrogenPro brings Chinese electrolyser factory into full ownership
Source：hydrogeninsight
Norwegian electrolyser firm HydrogenPro has announced that it has bought out Tianjin Miaoqing Machinery’s 25% stake in its factory in Tianjin, China.
As such, HydrogenPro now owns 100% of the facility, which is able to produce up to 500MW of stacks per year for its pressurised alkaline electrolyser systems.
The company paid CN¥3m ($423,705) in cash, with equipment valued at CN¥1.8m also included in the deal.
“This transaction is in line with HydrogenPro’s strategy of streamlining operations,” CEO Jarle Dragvik said.
“We are pleased to secure full ownership of the plant, which is a very cost-efficient set-up with capacity to deliver on large projects. The plant is already controlled and operated by HydrogenPro.”
The Tianjin factory had rolled out stacks for HydrogenPro’s flagship order, the 220MW ACES Delta project originally developed by Mitsubishi Power Americas.
However, HydrogenPro has since massively reduced capacity at the factory, letting go of 58 full-time employees and paying NKr4m ($393,894) in severance packages in the past quarter.
The company has expanded its electrode production in Denmark and partnered with Andritz for stack assembly in Germany to supply a 100MW project for steel giant Salzgitter, while entering into a localisation partnership with Thermax in India and pursuing a similar deal with an undisclosed company in the Middle East.
HydrogenPro has also recently brought Longi onboard as an investor, and Dragvik hinted in the statement announcing the Tianjin factory buy-out that Longi could be involved in future operations at the plant.
“HydrogenPro is, as previously communicated, in dialog with LONGi under the joint cooperation agreement about optimization of manufacturing footprint and further synergy recognition,” the CEO said.