Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group create fuel-cell joint venture
What's the story
Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group have formalized the transaction to form a fuel-cell joint venture (JV). The latter has acquired 50% of the partnership interests in Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG for roughly €0.6 billion. The JV will lead the global manufacturing of fuel-cells and help achieve climate-neutral and sustainable transportation by 2050. Here are more details.
Timeline
Customer tests of trucks with fuel-cells should begin by 2024
The two partners have agreed to rename the company as GmbH & Co. KG. The goal of the JV is to develop, produce, and commercialize fuel-cell systems for use in heavy-duty trucks and other applications. Customer tests of trucks with fuel-cells should begin in about three years, while the series production should commence in the second half of this decade.
Official words
'Hydrogen-based fuel-cell key to CO2-neutral transportation'
Daimler Truck AG chairperson Martin Daum said, "For us at Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, our intended partner, the hydrogen-based fuel-cell is a key technology for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future." "We both are fully committed to the Paris Climate Agreement for decarbonizing road transport and to building a prosperous jointly-held company that will deliver large volumes of fuel-cell systems."
Plans
The partnership will not affect competition in other sectors
Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group's experience in industrialization, technology development, and large-scale production in the commercial vehicle segment will benefit the joint venture to a great extent. However, both the companies will continue to compete in all other sectors such as fuel-cell integration in trucks as well as vehicle technology.
History
Early non-binding agreement was signed in April 2020
In November last year, Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group inked a binding agreement for the JV. Meanwhile, a preliminary non-binding agreement was signed in April 2020. At that time, President and CEO of Volvo Group, Martin Lundstedt said, "The formation of our fuel-cell joint venture is an important step in shaping a world we want to live in."