Ballard Power Systems Europe
Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S, Denmark, is the European arm of Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard, whose hydrogen fuel cell engines power passenger trains and shunting locomotives on European rail.
Ballard’s hydrogen fuel cell systems serve as primary propulsion power for trains on non-electrified lines, feeding the electric traction system in place of a diesel engine. Two module types anchor the rail portfolio: the FCmove-HD+, delivering 100 kW, and a 200 kW module.
The 200 kW module was developed under a development agreement Ballard signed with Siemens in November 2017, valued at approximately USD 9 million.
Installation differs by platform. Siemens’ Mireo Plus H mounts its fuel cell modules on the roof, paired with under-floor batteries, while Stadler’s FLIRT H2 houses fuel cells, hydrogen tanks, and batteries together in a central power pack between the two end cars.
European deployments
Seven Mireo Plus H trains, each carrying two 200 kW modules, entered regular service on the Heidekrautbahn in the Berlin-Brandenburg region in December 2024, operated by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn. A further unit has run a roughly 30-month trial with Bayerische Regiobahn in Bavaria since December 2024, on routes including Augsburg–Füssen.
Siemens Mobility has separately signed a letter of intent, dated September 2022, for up to 200 fuel cell modules totalling 40 MW over six years, with a firm commitment on 100 modules.
Ballard modules also power PESA’s SM42-6Dn shunting locomotive, which the company describes as the first certified hydrogen-powered shunter approved for the European market.
Market position
As a traction and propulsion supplier, Ballard counts more than 10 fuel cell rail projects worldwide since 2015, spanning passenger trains, trams, and shunting locomotives, according to the company.
Stadler’s FLIRT H2, carrying six FCmove-HD+ engines for a combined 600 kW, entered revenue service on 13 September 2025 on the Arrow Corridor in San Bernardino County, California, as the first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train in US commercial operation. In March 2024, the same train type set a Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by a hydrogen passenger train without refuelling: 2,803 km in a single run at the ENSCO test centre in Pueblo, Colorado.
In December 2024, Ballard signed a multi-year agreement with Stadler US to supply 8 MW of FCmove-HD+ engines for Caltrans’ order of 10 FLIRT H2 trains, with an option for 19 more.
The European organisation
The company began as a Danish business: Dantherm Power, established in Hobro in 2007 and grown out of a fuel cell R&D project started in 2003 within Dantherm Air Handling A/S. Canada’s Ballard Power Systems, listed on NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), took a controlling interest in 2010 and full ownership in January 2017, with the Danish entity renamed Ballard Power Systems Europe in 2016.
Today, the Hobro site serves as Ballard’s European headquarters.
In autumn 2024, Ballard announced 146 redundancies at Hobro, around 80 percent of a workforce of 200–250, as part of a global restructuring, with development and production concentrating at the Canadian operations.
Around 39 employees remained from early 2026, with Hobro continuing as a permanent base for sales, application engineering, and after-sales service and support for fuel cell systems deployed across Europe.
