Johnson Matthey Plc

This announcement contains inside information

Liam Condon, Chief Executive, Johnson Matthey, commented:

"For the rapidly developing hydrogen economy, this is a game-changer. By bringing together one of the largest fuel cell and green hydrogen companies in the world with JM's technology and manufacturing capabilities, we're creating volume and scale for green hydrogen that hasn't existed until now. This partnership confirms JM's world class position in catalyst coated membranes, the key performance-defining components of electrolysers and fuel cells."

Andy Marsh, CEO, Plug, commented:

"Plug is proud to expand our relationship with JM, a highly respected and skilled supply partner with a proven track record. This partnership will help us strengthen our supply chain and underpin our ability to deliver on the growing demand for our fuel cells and electrolysers. With a partner like JM, Plug is in a strong position to be the global leader of the green hydrogen economy."

Strategic partnership to accelerate the hydrogen economy

Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies and Plug Power (Plug), a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, today announce a long-term strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of fuel cells and electrolysers (green hydrogen). This partnership is progress towards JM's published milestone of winning at least two large scale strategic partnerships in Hydrogen Technologies by the end of 2022/23. It will also significantly contribute towards JM's 2030 target for 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions avoided per year.

As the world decarbonises, clean hydrogen demand is expected to grow more than one hundred fold in the ten years to 2030¹, boosted by government incentives including the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and REPowerEU in Europe. This partnership - between two leading players in hydrogen - will support development of this significant and fast-growing market.

Key elements of the strategic partnership

The strategic partnership will allow each company to leverage its specific areas of expertise, working together to accelerate growth. Key elements of the partnership:

Johnson Matthey: a leader in high value fuel cell and electrolyser components

In Hydrogen Technologies, JM's ambition is to be the market leader in CCMs. CCMs are high value performance components at the centre of fuel cells, PEM (proton exchange membrane) and AEM (anion exchange membrane) electrolysers.

As JM's business develops and scales, technological development will be critical. Through the application of world class PGM chemistry and catalysis, next generation products will be developed - increasing power density and durability - whilst also reducing cost through efficient manufacture and more effective use of PGMs. In conjunction, JM is aiming to be a cost leader through the use of technology, industrial scale production and automation. As the leading secondary refiner of PGMs, JM will also provide recycling services for these scarce metals, with the objective to provide a closed loop solution.

Plug is one of the leading players in the hydrogen economy and this partnership is a
step-change in the development of Hydrogen Technologies. It is a significant proof point of JM's ability to be a leading global supplier of CCMs. The partnership underpins targeted sales of more than £200 million from Hydrogen Technologies by the end of 2024/25, and an acceleration of growth thereafter.