U.S. supplier Garrett Motion Inc., seeking to explore the Chinese market for fuel cell vehicles, will supply electric compressors to Shanghai-based Refire Technology Co., a leading FCV battery maker in China.
The two companies this week in Beijing signed a strategic partnership agreement on the supply of the key component for batteries in fuel cell vehicles.
With the deal, it plans to start large-scale electric compressor output for fuel cell vehicles in China in the near future, Garrett said.
Prior to the deal, Garrett supplied electric compressors for a fuel cell vehicle developed by state-owned Chinese automaker GAC Motor Co. The vehicle, the Trumpchi-badged Aion LX crossover, was displayed at the Beijing auto show this week.
Refire, a company established in Shanghai in 2015, said currently around 40 percent of all fuel cell vehicles in operation in China are powered by its battery systems.
Garrett, which mainly makes automotive turbochargers, spun off from Honeywell in 2018. The supplier last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. following a prolonged dispute with Honeywell over the terms of the spinoff. Garrett said it expects to continue normal operations while it reoganizes under court protection.
