VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Loop Energy (TSX:LPEN), a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based solutions, announces the placement of the order for the first eFlow™ powered Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems under a commercial agreement with NGVI, a South Korean-based manufacturer of turn-key compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel systems for transit and coach bus applications. This announcement is an important milestone for Loop Energy as it signifies accelerating adoption of the eFlow™ fuel cell platform within the transit bus market vertical as well as Loop Energy’s official entry into the highly dynamic zero-emission commercial vehicle market in South Korea.
Under the agreement, Loop Energy will supply NGVI with the latest generation of its hydrogen fuel cell system offering featuring a fully integrated package of fuel cell module, cooling system and DCDC power conditioning equipment. NGVI is well positioned as a supplier within the South Korean bus market, with Seoul Bus company and TCHA Partners having a share of ownership in NGVI.
“With Loop’s state-of-the-art technology and NGVI’s system integration expertise and customer network, we believe we can make hydrogen electric transit a reality in South Korea and beyond,” said Ben Nyland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Energy. “Our fully integrated fuel cell system product line incorporates a lot of the input we collected from the customers, and the performance has been nothing short of outstanding. From the field data rolling in daily from previously announced municipal bus fleet in Nanjing, China, to new customer engagements in Eastern Europe and now in Korea, we are very pleased with the success we had in the transit bus market over the last few months.”
The first hydrogen fuel cell system supplied under the agreement is earmarked for construction of the first testing and homologation vehicles under the agreement signed between NGVI and Ulsan Metropolitan City for supply of hydrogen electric transit buses. Under the first phase of the multi-year agreement, Ulsan is anticipated to invest 2.3 billion KRW (approximately $2.0 million USD) by 2024 in testing and certification of hydrogen bus technologies, supplied by a consortium of partners including NGVI. Ulsan announced a plan in 2018 to replace 40% of the city’s 949 buses with hydrogen-fueled vehicles and establish 60 hydrogen fueling stations by 2030.
After development and demonstration, the buses are expected to expand to fleet used in the capital area where Seoul Bus Company and TCHA Partners own over 1,200 buses. The city says demand will rise as approximately 10 percent of Seoul buses are replaced or decommissioned annually. The number of buses owned by them is expected to be more than 2,000 by 2023, and the demand in the metropolitan area is expected to be more than 200 per year.
“The future of bus transit fleet depends on hydrogen fuel cell technology, and we are extremely pleased to kick off the project with NGVI,” said Hyun Tae Hwang, Head Researcher at Ulsan Technopark that actually leads the project by consignment from Ulsan City. “To make the economics work, fuel efficiency is important to us because it is the largest share of our total operating cost, and we are committed to using the vehicles equipped with most advanced hydrogen fuel cell systems that NGVI can supply.”
“Our major shareholders include some of Korea’s largest bus fleet operators. As a result, we have a unique level of appreciation for the impact vehicle’s cost of ownership has on how quickly South Korea’s bus transit with adopting hydrogen technology,” said David Jung, Chief Executive Officer of NGVI. “We have chosen to partner with Loop Energy because their products combine performance and economics into one value proposition that gives fleet operators exactly what they want.”
About NGVI
NGVI (Natural Gas Vehicles International) is a South-Korea based company specializing in the first compressed natural gas fuel storage and supply system modules. Founded in 2000, NGVI is an IATF 16949 certified company and provides 2,000 modules per year to its customers. In addition to natural gas vehicles, NGVI also assists with the design, development and manufacturing of fuel storage and supply systems for hydrogen vehicles and are planning to extend their services to other areas of transportation, including trains and ships. www.ngvi.co.kr
About Loop Energy Inc.
Loop Energy is a leading designer and manufacturer of fuel cell systems targeted for the electrification of commercial vehicles, including, light commercial vehicles, transit buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop’s products feature the Company’s proprietary eFlow™ technology in the fuel cell stack’s bipolar plates. eFlow™ was designed to enable commercial customers to achieve performance maximization and cost minimization. Loop works with OEMs and major vehicle sub-system suppliers to enable the production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. For more information about how Loop is driving towards a zero-emissions future, visit www.loopenergy.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflect management’s current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to execute on its strategy and the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated February 18, 2021. Loop disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.