(Yicai Global) May 16 -- China's Weichai Power Co. today signed a cooperation agreement with British solid oxide fuel cell, SOFC, supplier Ceres Power Ltd. to buy a stake in the company and set up a joint venture in China to commercialize SOFC technology in the Chinese market.

Weichai Power plans to spend more than GBP40 million (USD54 million) to buy new shares issued by Ceres Power to own a 20 percent stake in the Crawley-based company. The pair will set up a joint venture in Weifang in East China's Shandong province, where Weichai is headquartered, to cooperate in the SOFC field, the Securities Times reported.

Under the agreement, the two companies will set up the JV by 2020 to promote the commercialization of SOFC technology in the Chinese market. The JV will be granted an exclusive license to use Ceres Power's SteelCell technology in China and will be engaged in the production and sale of fuel cell systems, electric piles and cells for passenger cars, trucks and power generation markets.

The deal marks a substantial step in Weichai Power's efforts to adopt new power sources and will help the company build a new energy powertrain system in Shandong, provide advanced new energy power solutions to domestic commercial vehicle makers, restructure its businesses, and become a leader in new energy technology, it said.

Editor: Mevlut Katik