SteelCell developer Ceres Power has entered a new partnership with Nissan and The Welding Institute (TWI) to further develop fuel cell technology for electric vehicle (EV) applications.

For this project, the UK Government has awarded £8m to Ceres Power and TWI through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).

Ceres Power will receive £7m and TWI will receive £1m as part of an overall £19m three-year programme.

“The project marks the next step towards increased technology and manufacturing readiness for mass production of Ceres Power’s SteelCell for automotive applications.”

The latest partnership builds on the joint development with Nissan over the past couple of years, which has allowed Ceres Power to bolster commercialisation of its SteelCell fuel cell technology in automotive markets.

Ceres Power CEO Phil Caldwell said: “This latest announcement is testament to the strength of our relationship with Nissan, with whom we have already made significant strides in range extension technology over the past two years. We are grateful for the support from the APC and UK government.

“The SteelCell is now setting the standard for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology around the world. This year we have delivered on our commercial objectives and we continue to target an additional broad strategic collaboration in 2018.”

As part of the project, a compact, UK-produced SOFC stack will be designed, built, tested and demonstrated and deployed within a Nissan designed fuel cell module suitable for operation with various fuel types.

The project marks the next step towards increased technology and manufacturing readiness for mass production of Ceres Power’s SteelCell for automotive applications.