April 1 (Reuters) - Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems has been awarded a $54 million investment tax credit to support its fuel cell factory in Texas, the company said on Monday, bringing total funding for the project to $94 million.

Shares of the firm rose as much as 15% in early morning trade.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) and clean energy projects in a bid to decarbonize the U.S. power sector and incentivize the push for cleaner forms of energy generation.

The award – part of the 48C program, which provides 30% investment tax credits for selected clean energy manufacturing projects – will go into the build-out of the new fuel cell factory called Ballard Rockwall Giga 1.

Ballard had previously received $40 million in U.S. Department of Energy grants for the factory.

The firm said on Monday it intends to invest roughly $110 million from 2024 through end 2027 to commission a new manufacturing facility, and expects to make a final investment decision on the facility later this year.

Separately, Ballard said it had received an order for 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell engines from European bus manufacturer Solaris Bus and Coach.

The deal with Solaris consolidated orders for nearly 300 engines and a new supply agreement for an additional 700 engines through 2027. (Reporting by Kabir Dweit in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)