Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG Finalize New Fuel Cell Joint Venture

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Roeselare, Belgium – After Daimler Truck AG concluded a preliminary, non-binding agreement with Volvo Group in April of this year to establish a new joint venture for the development, production and commercialization of fuel cell systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and other applications, both companies now signed the binding agreement for this new fuel cell joint venture. The ambition of both partners as they expressed is to make the new company a leading global manufacturer of fuel-cells.

The Volvo Group will acquire 50 percent of the partnership interests in Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG for approximately EUR 0.6 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. Closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2021. The transaction is still subject to merger control review by relevant authorities, as well as other approvals.

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In addition to trucks both companies see also other areas of application for fuel-cell systems. As announced the joint venture will develop a system with several power stages, including a twin system with 300 kW continuous power for heavy-duty long-haul trucks. Based on the demanding conditions in heavy-duty truck applications, the joint venture’s products are also ideally suited for other use cases such as stationary power generation.

In 2020, Rolls-Royce plc and Daimler Truck AG signed an agreement to cooperate on stationary fuel-cell generators for the CO2-neutral emergency power supply of critical facilities such as data centers. The intention is to offer emission-free alternatives to diesel engines, which are currently applied in generators for emergency use. A final cooperation agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year.

The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG will own equal interests in the joint venture, but continue to be competitors in all other areas such as vehicle technology and fuel-cell integration in trucks. The goal is to start with customer tests of trucks with fuel-cells in about three years and to be in series production during the second half of this decade.