UPDATED: Ballard Power Systems Inc. (BLDP-T) has an agreement to acquire British hydrogen company GeoPura Limited for an upfront equity purchase price of approximately $515 million, a deal the Burnaby-based hydrogen fuel-cell maker calls a “transformative acquisition.”

The transaction, expected to close in the second half of the year, would establish Ballard as a vertically integrated energy-as-a-service provider across hydrogen production, distribution, logistics, refuelling, fuel cells and stationary power, the company said Tuesday morning.

Ballard would also acquire GeoPura’s 50 per cent ownership in HyMarnham Power, a joint venture that converted a coal power plant into a green hydrogen production site.

GeoPura is valued at approximately $564 million under the agreement, including net debt and excluding contingent consideration. The transaction is being funded through $154 million in cash and issuance of 50.8 million Ballard common shares to GeoPura shareholders at US$5.02 per share.

The boards of both companies have unanimously agreed to the acquisition, Ballard said, which is subject to customary closing conditions such as the approval of the TSX.

If the deal closes, Andrew Cunningham, GeoPura’s founder and CEO, is to be president of Ballard, reporting to Ballard’s CEO Marty Neese, who would no longer serve as president.

“This is a pivotal moment for our company,” Neese said on a conference call. The acquisition of GeoPura would accelerate Ballard’s strategy to be a profitable, scalable business by expanding beyond fuel cell components and into being a delivered power solution provider, Neese continued.

Synergy between Ballard, GeoPura

Founded in 1979 as a research and development firm for lithium batteries, Ballard switched to making fuel cells which convert fuels like hydrogen into electricity, producing a clean, low-carbon energy source. Its products are geared toward heavy-duty vehicle applications such as buses, trucks, boats, rail and material handling.

GeoPura, founded in 2019, develops, leases and sells Hydrogen Power Units (HPUs) and hydrogen fuel supplied through its three production sites and HyMarnham Power. Its customers include Disney, Microsoft, Netflix, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence and the BBC. The company has delivered 300 tonnes of green hydrogen to date, Cunningham said on the call, with over 60 HPUs delivered to customers. 

The two companies have partnered since 2019, with Ballard providing its fuel cells to GeoPura to power its HPUs. By acquiring GeoPura, Ballard’s global expansion is supported as it pairs GeoPura’s hydrogen ecosystem (production, logistics, stationary power) with Ballard's fuel cell platform to “deliver a bundled customer offering and unlock meaningful efficiencies for existing and future customers,” Ballard continued.

Additionally, the acquisition would allow Ballard to enter the high-growth, high-margin stationary power market, branching out from primarily transportation. GeoPura's HPUs are used in the construction, film and television, events, transportation, health care and defence industries, positioning Ballard to capture these growing markets globally. Data centres could be a new sector as well, Ballard said.

The transaction, Neese said, solves three critical challenges: removing the friction of adopting hydrogen, providing a customer-ready stationary power solution, and laying out a pathway to high-revenue growth and margin expansion.

Acquisition planned to grow Ballard’s market reach

Ballard expects to significantly increase its revenue growth with the acquisition and be on the path to profitability by 2028. In its Q1 results, Ballard reported operating at a net loss of US$11.4 million and being focused on sustainable, profitable operations. The company ran at a net loss from 2023-25.

The transaction strengthens Ballard’s financial performance, Neese said, as GeoPura is a high-growth business with an expected three-times revenue growth rate, and folding in the company would expand Ballard’s total addressable market by 10 times.

Cunningham projected GeoPura to generate approximately $71 million in revenue for the 2026 calendar year.

The Canadian fuel cell manufacturer is “the only partner able to deliver the fuel cell capabilities we need, backed by the deep engineering expertise required to ensure unbeatable product quality from kilowatt to megawatt,” Cunningham said.

Ballard’s stock remained steady after the acquisition was announced.

Hydrogen still rarely used

Hydrogen has been identified as a way to transition from polluting, carbon-intensive fossil fuels into a cleaner energy source. Those uses include transportation, energy generation and industry.

However, adoption of the fuel is not meeting expectations from governments and industry, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Project delays and cancellations have challenged the sector, due to issues like uncertainty around demand, questions around certification and regulation, and the lack of infrastructure to deliver hydrogen to end users.

Consumption of hydrogen in heavy industry and long-distance transport, the latter being a sector Ballard addresses, remains a tiny portion of global demand at less than 0.1 per cent, the IEA said.