Stellantis Group has revealed plans to acquire a substantial stake in Symbio, a developer and producer of hydrogen solutions for light and heavy duty vehicles.
Symbio is a joint venture (JV) created by French automotive supplier Faurecia and French tyre manufacturer Michelin with an aim to expedite the development of new-generation fuel cells.
Through the acquisition of stake in the hydrogen mobility company, Stellantis is expected to become a key player in zero-emission hydrogen mobility. In this connection, Stellantis is having exclusive negotiations with Faurecia and Michelin.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said: “Symbio’s technical roadmap perfectly matches with Stellantis’ hydrogen roll-out plans in Europe and in the US. This move will foster the speed of development to bring low emission products to our customers, beyond traditional electric vehicles.
“We’re grateful to the teams at Faurecia, Michelin and Symbio for their commitment to innovation, excellence, and collaboration as we all work to achieve decarbonized mobility.”
According to Stellantis, its intention to acquire a stake in Symbio is a part of the company’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. It includes plans to grow the firm’s hydrogen offering to large vans as early as 2024 in Europe and 2025 in the US as well as to further explore the potential for heavy-duty trucks.
Symbio introduced its HyMotive project in October 2022 with an aim to expedite its industrialisation and disruptive innovation to increase its total production capacity in France to 100,000 systems annually by 2028 along with the generation 1,000 additional jobs.
The investment by Stellantis is expected to allow Symbio to advance its development by leveraging the former’s leadership in the European and American automotive markets.
Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said: “By the intention of acquiring a stake in Symbio, Stellantis confirms the robustness of Michelin and Faurecia’s approach to creating a global leader in zero-emission mobility. The new setup will accelerate and globalize Symbio’s growth to the benefit of its customers.”
The transaction, which is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, is anticipated to close in the first semester of 2023.