Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG, which have established a joint venture for fuel cell production, are now joined by Toyota Motor Corporation, which becomes Cellcentric’s third shareholder, with an equal share to the two founders.
The three partners consider hydrogen as one of the most important energy sources for decarbonizing transport. Toyota’s entry into Cellcentric’s capital should accelerate the development and production of fuel cell systems for heavy-duty transportation and other heavy-duty applications with similar requirements. This might be the kind of signal that could solve the current dilemma between automakers and investors in the hydrogen production and distribution ecosystem: are vehicles needed to justify infrastructure investments, or is it the other way around?
Toyota’s role in Cellcentric will likely go beyond that of an ordinary investor. After all, the Japanese car manufacturer has three decades of experience in the field of fuel cells, as Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota, emphasizes. Cellcentric will continue to operate as an independent entity, serving a wide range of customers, including potentially car manufacturers other than the three shareholders.
