The National Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Ballard is acquiring U.K.-based Geopura Ltd., which produces zero-emission hydrogen, for about $515-million in equity and cash. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that the lack of access to hydrogen has been a key hurdle to Ballard selling its hydrogen fuel cells. By combining with Geopura, Ballard hopes customers will buy its hydrogen fuel cells and its hydrogen fuel. "This acquisition shifts our business toward recurring, high-margin revenues and reinforces our path to profitability by 2028," said Ballard chief executive officer Martin Neese. He took over last July and the company immediately announced a "fundamental reset," including work force adjustments, that the company said has cut its operating expenses by 40 per cent. Ballard has focused on fuel cells for transport, such as buses and trucks. Mr. Neese has said customers' inability to access hydrogen has been a major hurdle to increasing sales. The combination with Geopura will address this and create an entry point to the market for zero-emission backup power solutions, including for data centres. National Bank analyst Baltej Sidhu said the deal was Ballard's "most strategically significant" acquisition.