Hydrogen, the French Symbio acquired by Stellantis, Michelin and Faurecia

A new step forward by Stellantis in green navigation. In fact, the automaker has signed a joint agreement with Michelin and the seventh major global components manufacturer Faurecia (a former subsidiary of Stellantis that will become ForVia after the acquisition of German Hella) to acquire Symbio, each with a 33.3% interest, a zero-emissions segment. hydrogen. All companies are French. The deal was announced in December 2022. “Acquiring an equal stake in Symbio will strengthen our leadership position in hydrogen vehicles, support the production of our fuel cell vans in France, and is the perfect complement to our growing battery electric vehicle offering.

Hydrogen fuel cells are essential and Symbio will become a key player in the battle to protect future generations, ”explains Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. Symbio, headquartered in Vénissieux (Lyon) with facilities in North America, plans to produce 50,000 fuel cells per year by 2025, with utilization From the Saint-Fons gigafactory, which will start production in the second half of 2023. Last October, the group presented the HyMotive project to increase its production capacity in France to 100,000 systems per year by 2028, while creating 1,000 jobs across the Alps.. Stellantis’ strategic plan includes expanding the offer of hydrogen vehicles for large trucks starting in 2024 in Europe and from 2025 in the United States, as well as studying more opportunities in the heavy-duty vehicle segment. With the Citroen and Peugeot brands, the automaker already continues to build and market hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. Tavares also announced in October 2022 at the Hordain plant the start of mass production of Peugeot, Citroën and Opel light commercial vehicles with a hydrogen version equipped with fuel cells.