The Coating Service Center set up by Impact Coatings in Shanghai enters into operation, now supplying fuel cell customers in China with bipolar plate coatings produced in the country. The facility has an initial capacity to produce 1 million fuel cell plates annually, with the facility prepared to scale up volumes. The formal inauguration of the site will take place after the summer.
Cost Reduction in Domestic Production
With a local coating partner specializing in hydrogen applications, Chinese fuel cell customers speed up coating qualification and production scaling. Domestic production also reduces costs, administration, and environmental impact related to international transportation of the fuel cell plates.
In April, Impact Coatings’ site in Shanghai saw arrival of its first INLINECOATER™ machine, optimized for fuel cell bipolar plate coatings. In addition to the coating line, the Coating Service Center includes a high-capacity cleaning line, quality control lab, logistics areas and office spaces, forming a complete production facility to serve customers in the region.
At the beginning of the year, several team members participated in education and training at the headquarters in Sweden. Knowledge exchange and training are key activities to eventually ramp up production, from 1-shift to multiple-shift operations. In addition, the facility offers the possibility of expanding coating machine capacity in the future.
The formal inauguration of the new Coating Service Center will take place after the summer, planned to bring customers, local officials, representatives from Swedish Consulate in Shanghai, and visitors from the Swedish headquarters together.
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After dedicated and intensive work, we have now started local production in China. With the facility in place and up and running we can help customers reduce risks, speed up the knowledge exchange, and respond faster to changing demands. Our presence and production capacity will be critical to meet the demands of the accelerating hydrogen market in China,” said Yaowen Wang, regional president, China at Impact Coatings.
Source: Impact Coatings