With the establishment of a joint venture for the development and distribution of cost-effective fuel cell devices efficient and environmentally friendly systems are provided in the future, with which the current tense situation in India and other developing countries can be solved sustainably. The agreement to establish this promising joint venture was made as part of a travel of the Thuringian Minister of Economy, Labour and Technology Uwe Höhn. “This cooperation is a milestone to cement ties with India in the energy sector,” he said.

The Fraunhofer IKTS will hold a 49 percent stake in the new joint venture. Prof. Alexander Michaelis, head of the institute, emphasizes the urgency of decentralized power generation systems: “With high-performance micro-power plants we contribute to the promotion of energy independence in the Indian provinces and thus ensure economic stability in rural areas.”

First prototypes of the high-temperature fuel cell system (SOFC) developed at Fraunhofer IKTS are currently being built and put into operation to be handed over this year for testing and demonstration purposes at MRE. Mayur visions to combine solar, wind, biogas and fuel cell technologies. To ensure a durable cost-effective manufacturing of SOFC stacks and systems, a laboratory facility in Pune is currently under construction. Hence, additionally to the backward integration of the companies also the Indian professionals of tomorrow benefit by the growing educational package in the field of clean energy technologies.