Joint venture to boost fuel cell production

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 NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD. (NTK) and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) have concluded an agreement to establish of a joint venture to manufacture and sell cylindrical cell stacks as the power generating elements found in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC).

Fuel cells are widely expected to be utilized as clean energy devices for commercial and industrial use, and are considered a solution for future energy and environmental issues. NTK and MHPS concluded a business partnership agreement in June 2014 for the mass production of cylindrical cell stacks, and of recent time, have been pursing joint development. The integration of NTK's mass production technologies for ceramics and MHPS' cylindrical cell stack design technologies, which allow for long life and heat utilization, has resulted in the commercial development of high-performance cylindrical cell stacks.

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Going forward, NTK will establish a preparatory company, with a joint venture company to be established following examination by competition authorities.