Stellantis joins fuel cell joint venture Symbio

Stellantis has officially joined Symbio as the third shareholder in the fuel cell joint venture. The company announced that it now holds 33.3 per cent of the shares. Other shareholders are Faurecia and Michelin.

Stellantis had announced its intention to take a stake in Symbio at the end of last year. In May 2023, the car company then signed a binding agreement with the other two shareholders. How much Stellantis paid for this share is still not known.

Symbio was founded in November 2019 by Faurecia and Michelin and established as a fuel cell manufacturer focused on the European market. It expanded into the US in August 2022. The Stellantis Group has been one of the joint venture’s close partners, as it relies on Symbio’s stacks for the fuel cell versions of the Opel Vivaro-e and its sister models. As part of its strategic plan Dare Forward 2030, Stellantis is pursuing, among other things, the expansion of its hydrogen offering to larger commercial vehicles – starting in 2024 in Europe and from 2025 in the USA.

“The addition of Stellantis as a shareholder will boost Symbio’s development across Europe and in the US,” Stellantis writes. Symbio plans to manufacture 50,000 fuel cells per year by 2025 at its factory in Saint-Fons, France, which is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2023. And there is more news from Europe.

Symbio is supplying the fuel cell systems for the first 50 and potentially up to 1,000 Stellantis hydrogen taxis for the Hype fleet in Paris. The company is also supporting the project with its technical expertise and after-sale network.

“The quick deployment of Hype’s fleet is a unique occasion for Symbio to demonstrate the performance of our technology in real-life conditions, with a seasoned partner in the adoption of hydrogen electric vehicles,” says Symbio CEO Philippe Rosier. Hype CEO Mathieu Gardies adds: “This partnership with one of Europe’s leaders in Fuel Cell technology confirms the soundness of our integrated hydrogen mobilities offer and our ability to involve top-tier industrial actors.”

stellantis.com (joint venture), symbio.one (Hype)