Kickoff of hydrogen and methanol fuel cell production by SFC Energy AG and FC TecNrgy Pvt Ltd. during the meeting of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Brunnthal/Munich/New Delhi, February 27, 2023 – SFC Energy AG (F3C:DE, ISIN: DE0007568578), a leading supplier of hydrogen and methanol fuel cells for stationary and mobile hybrid power solutions, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with its long-term Indian partner FC TecNrgy Pvt Ltd. ("FCTec") to establish a new manufacturing facility for hydrogen and methanol fuel cells and further market development in India. The signing took place during the meeting between the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and fulfills the strategic framework of the "National Green Hydrogen Mission" initiated by Prime Minister Modi, which envisages a clean energy supply and CO₂ reduction in India.

In order to meet the legal and regulatory requirements of the "Make in India" legislation, SFC Energy establishes the subsidiary SFC Energy India Ltd. In the future, it will be responsible for the manufacturing of EFOY Hydrogen and EFOY Methanol fuel cells and quality assurance, while FCTec will continue to be SFC's "Go To Market" partner. In this role, FCTec will be responsible for the design, development, installation, and integration of custom fuel cell solutions, as well as the development of other key peripheral system components for such solutions and after-sales service. SFC Energy India will be located in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon, in the high-tech zone of the Indian capital region Greater Delhi. There, the new subsidiary, together with FCTec, will move into a 35,000-square-meter state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly center becoming one of the first and most advanced production facilities for fuel cells in India. This makes SFC Energy and FCTec pioneers for this technology nationwide. The construction of the manufacturing facility will take place in several phases.

To underline the strategic importance of the partnership, SFC Energy India and FCTec have agreed on a mutual equity participation of the local companies. The corporate integration as well as the joint plans for the future are thus intended to meet the requirements of the "Make in India" initiative, which aims to stimulate investment in India, promote innovation, build competencies, protect intellectual property, and create a first-class production infrastructure in the Indian market, which is highly interesting for both partners.

India has formulated ambitious climate protection targets and wants to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 45% by 2030 compared with 2005. The country aims to become climate neutral by 2070. At the same time, the Indian government wants to ensure an independent and sustainable energy supply and guarantee the protection of public health. In order to consistently achieve these goals, the (diesel/gasoline) generators currently in use are to be replaced by fuel cells in the transportation, military and critical infrastructure sectors, including telecommunications, among others. In perspective, decentralized fuel supply with green hydrogen and methanol is decisive and planned for all projects in India. The Indian government's "National Green Hydrogen Mission", for example, is a broad-based support program with an estimated investment of USD 44 billion by 2030. Similarly, low-end methanol fuel cells are ideal for numerous mission-critical energy applications in the core target markets of video surveillance, telecommunications, defense, homeland security, and oil, gas and mining.

"We have been active in the Indian market since 2016, are familiar with the local requirements and needs, and are working successfully and trustfully with FCTec there. For us, India has enormous growth potential and is therefore of great strategic importance for SFC Energy's expansion. The step to open a site in the most populous country in the world is therefore only logical and with FCTec we have the right partner at our side at the right time. With this important step for our company, we want to further expand our business in Asia with India as our core market and to better exploit the potential through customer proximity. We are also benefiting from the clear political will of the Indian government to massively promote the production of clean energy and the reduction of CO₂ emissions. We can contribute to this with our fuel cells, for example, to replace the diesel generators that are widely used in India. The opening in Gurgaon is therefore also a strong signal in the global Race-to-Zero," says Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG.

"We have been developing and marketing methanol fuel cells based power solutions for more than seven years, making us one of the first fuel cell companies in India. In 2022, we added hydrogen fuel cells to our portfolio. Manufacturing energy solutions including fuel cells in India is part of our long-term strategy that will position us as one of the market leaders in the fuel cell segment in India. Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Indian government have set a goal to significantly reduce carbon emissions through technological innovation. This, along with recent policies and initiatives, has given a huge boost to small startups like FCTec. Hydrogen fuel cells will be one of the key components of India's hydrogen economy, and we are very excited to be part of the upcoming clean energy revolution. This is because our fuel cells can be used as solution components to replace the diesel/gasoline generators that are widely used in India," says Colonel Karandeep Singh (retired), the founding Director of FCTec.

For more information on SFC Energy's Clean Energy and Clean Power Management solutions, visit sfc.com.

About SFC Energy AG

SFC Energy AG is a leading provider of hydrogen and methanol fuel cells for stationary and mobile hybrid power solutions. With the Clean Energy and Clean Power Management business segments, SFC Energy is a sustainably profitable fuel cell producer. The Company distributes its award-winning products worldwide and has sold more than 60,000 fuel cells to date. The Company is headquartered in Brunnthal/Munich and operates production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Canada. SFC Energy AG is listed on the Deutsche Boerse Prime Standard and has been part of the selection index SDAX since 2022 (GSIN: 756857, ISIN: DE0007568578).

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