Neuman & Esser and Ballard invest in Quantron
Quantron has successfully closed an A-financing round of up to 50 million euros after a seed round in March 2021. Investors include German machinery and equipment manufacturer Neuman & Esser and Canadian fuel cell technology group Ballard Power Systems.
The fresh funds will be used to accelerate the development of further BEVs and FCEVs with a focus on heavy-duty trucks. Together with Quantron’s partner network, the QaaS (Quantron-as-a-Service) ecosystem, an OEM-open ecosystem, is also to be further expanded. “In the future, the Hydrogen Alliance will provide customers with a 360-degree open platform that, in addition to zero-emission H2 vehicles, will also include the associated infrastructure ranging from H2 generation through to refuelling,” Quantron writes.
At a company valuation of 250 million euros, Neuman & Esser is acquiring a minority stake. The amount of this is not mentioned in a press release. In addition to the current minority stake, the German company has secured an option for another investment.
Ballard Power is also acquiring a minority stake, to which Quantron states that it is an investment in the single-digit million range. In addition, the Canadian company is entering into a development cooperation with the company. Ballard’s investment is to support the development of fuel cell vehicle platforms under a Joint Development Agreement. The target is four platforms over the next twelve months. Ballard will be Quantron’s exclusive fuel cell supplier for these truck platforms.
As part of the Hydrogen Alliance, Neuman & Esser will provide the necessary infrastructure, particularly from electrolyzers and reformer technologies, as well as piston and diaphragm compressors for transport and storage, to complete hydrogen refuelling stations and filling facilities.
As an important partner of the Hydrogen Alliance, Deutsche Tamoil / HEM is the first filling station operator to join, according to the statement. In cooperation with Quantron, it will be examined to what extent H2 filling stations can be realised along the more than 400 HEM filling stations. The sites are to be upgraded in a staggered process.
“We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible solutions. The successfully concluded financing round gives us the necessary scope to further develop our Fuel Cell vehicle development, while at the same time consolidating our partner network required for this purpose,” says Michael Perschke, CEO of Quantron. “Positioned in this way we can optimally meet the needs of our customers, including range, payload and refueling time. However we don’t see ourself as a competitor to existing OEMs – but rather as an engineering and H2-fueling platform partner thus allowing the acceleration of hydrogen adoption as a source of energy for transportation with a focus on heavy duty and long distance transportation.”
“In order to meet the growing demand for hydrogen in this sector, through our strategic partnership we can combine infrastructure know-how with fuel cell vehicle technology in order to create an ecosystem,” adds Alexander Peters, Managing Partners of Neuman & Esser. “This gives the increasing number of customers access to a fully integrated mobility platform.”
Quantron was founded in the summer of 2019 by Iveco contract partner and commercial vehicle specialist Haller. As part of its strategic reorientation as an OEM of its own buses, the company will stop selling buses from Turkish manufacturer Karsan in Germany at the end of the year. Although Quantron is increasingly becoming a full-range supplier of electric commercial vehicles, the area of converting vehicles remains an important part of the business.
With reporting by Domenico Sciurti, Germany.
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