Audi buys fuel cell patents for €70 million

The Volkswagen Group announced yesterday that it has renewed the contract with the Canadian company Ballard Power Systems until 2019 to continue relying on its design and manufacturing services for fuel cells. This extension of the term has entailed an additional payment of between $24 and $40 million (around €21 and €35 million, respectively), and also offers the option to extend it for another two years.

This measure has been accompanied by the acquisition by Audi of patents on fuel cells worth $80 million (about €70 million at the current exchange rate). The German manufacturer’s aim is to continue driving forward R&D in technology designed to power hydrogen vehicles, which it will also share with the rest of the brands in the Volkswagen Group.

Although it is true that VAG has been reluctant in the past to launch this type of model in the short term, the German giant is progressively increasing the amount of resources invested in its prototype programme showcasing the latest progress in this field. The most recent ones it has shown are the Audi A7 Sportback h-tron quattro and the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Passat HyMotion.

Hydrogen-powered cars are still a long way from becoming the definitive alternative for when fossil fuel reserves run out. In many cases, carmakers do not find them profitable, and the infrastructure of “hydrogen stations” is extremely limited, which makes their availability to the general public unfeasible for the time being.

Nevertheless, it is precisely by promoting research and carrying out tests that the discoveries leading to a more realistic solution and facilitating the move away from oil are encouraged. In the next five years, we can therefore expect VAG to show us some new, more advanced hydrogen prototype.

Sources | Audi and Ballard Power Systems