(Yicai Global) March 28 -- Chinese auto parts manufacturer Weifu High-Technology aims to expand into the new energy vehicle supply sector by investing in a Danish fuel cell component maker.

State-backed Weifu will buy a 66 percent stake in IRD Fuel Cells in a EUR7.3 million (USD8.2 million) deal, the Wuxi-based enterprise said in a statement. Fellow Chinese firm Troowin Power System Technology is an existing shareholder in the Odense-based company. 

Founded in 1990, IRD produces membrane electrodes and graphite composite bipolar plates for fuel cells. It runs two production sites in Denmark and New Mexico, US.

The investment will facilitate Weifu's quick entry into the fuel cell key parts sector, helping the firm to nurture new growth points and accelerate its transformation, the statement said. Fuel cells as next-generation battery technology possess advantages in energy density and storage time, and do not directly cause pollution.

Set up in 1992 and backed by the local Wuxi government in eastern Jiangsu province, Weifu makes traditional fuel vehicle systems such as fuel injection, exhaust gas after-treatment and engine air intake. The company sells to the US, Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions.

Editor: William Clegg