California-based Karma Automotive has agreed to collaborate with Denmark’s Blue World Technologies to explore the viability of a fuel cell system to provide primary propulsion power for a variety of future passenger and light commercial vehicles. Blue World Technology’s fuel cell system will be integrated with Karma Automotive’s electric vehicle architecture and piloted in GS-6 development vehicles for evaluation purposes.
Testing and validation will take place in the U.S. and Denmark over the next few months.
The exclusive fuel for Blue World Technologies’ fuel cell systems is methanol – a renewable liquid fuel that cost-effectively can be stored for years and transported around the world while reusing existing infrastructure.
Methanol can be produced using renewable sources ensuring a CO2 neutral proposition.
Dr. Lance Zhou, Karma’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “We are investing in these types of powertrain technologies now to prepare for an emission-free world by having various extended-range electrification solutions that include hydrogen, ethanol and methanol fuel cells as a propulsion system. This collaboration brings together Blue World’s strength in fuel cell development and our vast expertise in engineering hybrid propulsion systems and integrating electric vehicle technologies.”
Mads Friis Jensen, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-founder of Blue World Technologies, adds: “We are very excited about the collaboration with Karma and see great potential in combining their expertise within hybridization and powertrain solutions with our flexible fuel cell concept that is suitable for both engine bay or skateboard platform integration.”
Headquartered in Irvine, California with an assembly plant located in Moreno Valley, Karma sells vehicles via its dealer network comprised of nearly 40 locations in North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East.
