Daimler and Volvo Group form fuel cell partnership

Daimler Trucks and Volvo Group are forming a partnership for the development and sale of fuel cell technology.

The 50/50 joint venture aims to deliver road transport solutions for a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 and has been signed with a preliminary non-binding agreement.

Daimler will deliver all its current fuel cell activities into the joint venture while Volvo Group will acquire 50% for around 600 million euros on a cash and debt free basis.

The partnership will operate as an independent and autonomous entity and the two groups say they will continue to be competitors in all other areas of business.

“Transport and logistics keep the world moving, and the need for transport will continue to grow,” Daimler Trucks chief executive Martin Daum says.

“Truly CO2-neutral transport can be accomplished through electric drive trains with energy coming either from batteries or by converting hydrogen on board into electricity.

“For trucks to cope with heavy loads and long distances, fuel cells are one important answer and a technology where Daimler has built up significant expertise through its Mercedes-Benz fuel cell unit over the last two decades.

“This joint initiative with the Volvo Group is a milestone in bringing fuel cell powered trucks and buses onto our roads,” Daum says.

Volvo Group president and chief executive Martin Lundstedt says business partnerships are needed to fast-track fuel cell technology .

“Electrification of road transport is a key element in delivering the so called Green Deal, a carbon neutral Europe and ultimately a carbon neutral world.

“Using hydrogen as a carrier of green electricity to power electric trucks in long-haul operations is one important part of the puzzle, and a complement to battery electric vehicles and renewable fuels.

“Combining the Volvo Group and Daimler’s experience in this area to accelerate the rate of development is good both for our customers and for society as a whole.

“By forming this joint venture, we are clearly showing that we believe in hydrogen fuel cells for commercial vehicles. But for this vision to become reality, other companies and institutions also need to support and contribute to this development, not least in order to establish the fuel infrastructure needed,” Lundstedt says.

Joining forces will decrease development costs for both companies and accelerate the market introduction of fuel cell systems in products used for heavy-duty transport and demanding long-haul applications.

The companies say the current economic downturn means the cooperation has become even more necessary in order to meet the Green Deal objectives within a feasible time-frame.

The goal is for both companies to offer heavy-duty vehicles with fuel cells for long-haul applications in series production in the second half of the decade. In addition, other automotive and non-automotive use cases are also part of the new joint venture’s scope.

The joint venture will include the operations in Nabern, Germany (currently headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH) with production facilities in Germany and Canada.