Daimler and Volvo finalise the fuel-cell joint venture
Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group has finalised their previously announced fuel cell joint venture. Both partners aim to make the joint venture a leading producer of fuel cells.
The Volvo Group has bought half of the partnership interests in Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG for approximately € 0.6 billion (US$ 0.7 billion ) on a cash and debt-free basis. The joint venture has also now been renamed Cellcentric GmbH & Co. KG. In November 2020, both companies signed a binding agreement for the joint venture, while a preliminary non-binding agreement was already signed in April 2020.
Cellcentric will develop, produce and commercialise fuel-cell systems for heavy-duty trucks as the primary focus and other applications. It aims to begin testing the fuel-cells over the next three years and planning commercial production between 2025 and 2030. Despite their partnership, both companies will continue to be competitors in other areas, such as fuel-cell integration in trucks.
Cellcentric will develop a system with several power stages, including a twin system with 300 kW continuous power for heavy-duty long-haul trucks. The fuel cell products are also ideally suited for other applications for instance stationary power generation.
The fuel cell system has an output of around 50kW and works at a voltage in the range of 800VDC. The unit’s geometry is based on diesel engines’ usual installation spaces so that two units can be installed in the engine compartments of heavy commercial vehicles with a total output of around 300 kW.
