Stellantis to buy one-third stake in fuel cell system maker Symbio

PARIS -- Stellantis will acquire an equal one-third stake in Symbio, the hydrogen fuel cell joint venture between Michelin and Faurecia, the three companies said. 

Faurecia said it would receive 150 million euros ($163 million) from Stellantis in the deal, an amount that would be part of a planned 1 billion euro asset disbursement program. 

PSA Group was formerly the majority shareholder in Faurecia before liquidating its stake when it merged with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis in 2021.

Michelin did not say if it was also receiving money from Stellantis. A Stellantis spokesman told Automotive News Europe that the company was not disclosing financial details of the deal.

The three groups entered exclusive talks about the potential deal in December last year. 

Stellantis launched hydrogen-powered mid-size vans from Citroen, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot in 2021 and aims to expand its hydrogen offer to large vans in Europe in 2024 and in the U.S. in 2025, and potentially heavy-duty trucks. The European vans are built at Opel’s home factory in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

The vans compete with offerings from Renault Group, which has its own hydrogen unit, Hyvia, which it formed in a collaboration with the U.S. startup PlugPower. Ford has also just announced it is testing hydrogen fuel cell vans.

Fuel cells are seen as an ideal zero-emissions powertrain for delivery vans, because they are lighter than batteries and have a faster refueling time. There is very little hydrogen infrastructure, however, and critics say the extraction process is not yet environmentally friendly.

"Acquiring an equal stake in Symbio will bolster our leadership position in hydrogen-powered vehicles by supporting our fuel cell van production in France, and it also serves as a perfect complement to our growing battery electric vehicle portfolio," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a release. 

Symbio, which was formed in 2019, says it will start production of fuel cells in the second half of this year at its factory in St. Fons, France. It is planning an annual capacity of 50,000 cells by 2025.

Reuters contributed to this report