The methanol fuel cell developer and manufacturer, Blue World Technologies, is starting a limited production which is the first step in commercialising their fuel cell technology.

It is two years ago that Blue World Technologies was founded in October 2018. In these two years, the company has concentrated on optimising the production processes working towards the goal of commercialising the methanol fuel cell technology through large-scale production. As many other start-ups, Blue World Technologies has met challenges on the way and in September 2019, just a year after the company’s establishment, the construction of production facilities for Blue World Technologies was paused due to construction difficulties just a few weeks before the construction was planned to begin. That resulted in a plan B, and Blue World Technologies quickly adapted and continued the path of developing new production methods and optimising processes. Now the company is starting a limited methanol fuel cell production as the first step in commercialising the technology.

Anders Korsgaard, CEO and Co-founder of Blue World Technologies, expresses what the company has been working on and the interesting future that lies ahead of them: “One of the most crucial elements we have been working on these past two years is bringing down the production time and costs of the fuel cell components. We have now reached a point which enables us to move one step closer towards commercialising the technology to be able to compete with conventional technologies.”

The steps towards commercialisation

In less than two years Blue World Technologies has managed to build up a solid order book that reflects the market demand in the methanol fuel cell technology. The limited production that has now been started allows Blue World Technologies to deliver systems and components to customers as an initiating step towards scaling up the production. The experience gained from the limited production will be used in the continued optimisation of production methods and processes as the company will move onto serial production of 2,000 to 5,000 units. Blue World Technologies is expected to continue upscaling the production with an aim to reach a full-scale commercial production capacity of 50,000 fuel cell units within three years.

“There is an increased focus on Power-to-X and there is a big market demand for alternative technologies providing CO2 reduction, which we also see in both our current order books but also in the initiated dialogues we have with potential customers. Starting this initial production now allows us to progress with development and trial projects with customers,” explains Mads Friis Jensen, CCO and Co-founder of Blue World Technologies.

Retiring the combustion engine

The methanol fuel cell technology has great potential in several markets such as maritime, heavy-duty, stationary, and passenger vehicles. Blue World Technologies has a partner approach to fully leverage the potential of these markets. As a green and clean alternative to combustion engines and diesel generators the methanol fuel cell technology provides multiple benefits such as cost-savings, CO2 reduction – or even a CO2 neutral operation when running on green methanol – as well as zero harmful emissions. The fuel cells run on methanol which is an easy-to-use e-fuel as it is liquid at atmospheric pressure making refuelling convenient and makes it possible to integrate and reuse in the world’s existing infrastructure. Methanol is a fuel that can be produced from green sources and is CO2 neutral in a well-to-wheel perspective. Therefore, it is a solid alternative to fossil fuel and can contribute to the green transition in multiple industries around the world.

With an aim to retire the combustion engine – a technology we have been relying on for more than a century – Blue World Technologies is eagerly working towards commercialising the fuel cell technology. Facing the optimisations and development of combustion engine technologies that have been ongoing for decades, Blue World Technologies has spent the past two years and is continuing to bring down production time and costs as well as increasing the electrical efficiency to be able to compete with the combustion engine.