Vaekstfonden, the Danish Growth Fund, and the German engine manufacturer DEUTZ AG, are investing €15 million in methanol fuel cell company Blue World Technologies. The aim is to bring the company’s green fuel cell products and solutions to the global market.

The Blue World Technologies fuel cells are based on high-temperature PEM-technology combined with methanol reforming.

In October, Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ AG started a due diligence process with the intention to invest in Blue World Technologies. This process has now been completed and Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ are therefore each investing €7.5 million in the company. With Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ as investors, Blue World Technologies is also in a strong position concerning a potential stock exchange listing in the future.

Since the beginning of 2021, Blue World Technologies has been working to establish a factory to produce the core components for the fuel cell stacks and systems at their headquarters in Aalborg, Denmark. During the year, the company has insourced the entire production of membranes, electrodes, and separator plates. With the new investment, Blue World Technologies will work towards starting serial production to get the company ready to send fuel cells and systems to industries around the world.

With a short history of only three years, we have moved quickly in many ways, and with these new investments we are now accelerating the industrialization of our methanol fuel cell technology even more. Both Vaekstfonden and DEUTZ are really strong and experienced investors who can support Blue World, both in relation to the further development of the company, large-scale production, and with market access. We have had an exciting and good collaboration in the recent months, and we look forward to continuing exploring that.

—Anders Korsgaard, Co-founder and CEO of Blue World Technologies

With an expectation of producing 500 MW fuel cells at the factory in Aalborg, Denmark when the full production capacity is achieved within the next couple of years, the company is taking a big step towards getting the methanol fuel cell technology out on the market.

The investment and the collaboration with Blue World Technologies are in line with our activities within the development of climate-neutral drive-systems at DEUTZ. We are generally experiencing great interest in our climate-neutral solutions, and we also experienced this in November, when Blue World Technologies presented their products to our customers and partners at the annual DEUTZ DAYS. The interest that has been generated is overwhelming and we look forward to seeing the potential of our collaboration unfold in the coming years.

—Dr Frank Hiller, CEO of DEUTZ AG

The investment from Vaekstfonden is supported by the European Investment Bank with the backing of the European Union through EFSI.

The 8,500 m² production building that Blue World Technologies took over in February will be one of the world's largest fuel cell factories within high-temperature PEM technology. At the factory, methanol fuel cell stacks and systems will be manufactured for a wide variety of industries within the stationary and the transportation sector where it will act as a green alternative to conventional combustion engines or generators.