Stellantis Shares Joint Venture into New Hydrogen Fuel Cell Gigafactory Symphonhy
Ever since Stellantis released its “Dare Forward 2030” business strategy, the automotive group has been hot to develop new forms of alternative fuel. Once reluctant to introduce battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) to the lineup, the group now plans to release more than 75 BEV models across the world and already has two BEV battery facilities with Samsung SDI. Looking for other types of fuel, Stellantis entered into a Joint Venture with Vulcan Energy Resources to harness geothermal energy, and according to Ram Truck, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle is on the way. The newest development is Symbio, an equally owned joint venture between Forvia, Michelin, and Stellantis to introduce SymphonHy, its first gigafactory for hydrogen fuel cell production.
With its state-of-the-art technology, SymphonHy will become known as the largest integrated fuel cell production site in Europe. Utilizing a high level of automation and robotics, the site can become a large-scale industrial production to accelerate the development of competitive, high-performance hydrogen-powered transportation devices. The site houses a production plant, an innovation hub of unparalleled dimension, and the Symbio Hydrogen Academy dedicated to research and development of hydrogen power.
Symbio site has an existing surface area of 26,000 m2 to house all three departments, with plans to expand to 40,000 m2 by 2026. The SymphonHy production plant has already set a production capacity target of 16,000 hydrogen fuel cells a year, with a goal of 50,000 by 2026. The innovation hub has 7,000 m2 of space dedicated to research and development and is a second home to over 450 engineers, including 100 of which are dedicated to innovation, and 20 who have earned PhDs covering a wide range of disciplines (electrochemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, etc.), The site as a whole has 8,000 m2 of ISO 8-certified cleanrooms and has been certified “Very Good” by BREEAM in terms of energy self-sufficiency.
With more than 30 years of experience, the support of leaders in the automotive world and its many shareholders, plus 3.5 million miles of road-testing recorded, Symbio already has a great start. With SymphonHy, it will be able to supply its consumers with zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells for mobility products without compromising the performance offered by today’s popular methods of propulsion – battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and internal combustion engine (ICE) gasoline-powered vehicles. With an already large portfolio of solutions to provide efficient zero-emission mobility that meets all the power, durability, and autonomy requirements automakers may seek. Able to be applied in various ways, these mobility solutions could be used for multiple kinds of vehicles and equipment, such as on-road light and mid-range commercial vehicles, trucks, pickups, buses and coaches, or even off-road lifting and mechanical handling equipment.
We’re not even close to the 2030 goal of having an auto market full of BEVs, and there are already automakers working towards the next big thing. Stellantis had a hand in Symbio as a shareholder for years now, and was the first automotive group to market zero-emission hydrogen light commercial vehicles for the Peugeot e-Expert, Citroën e-Jumpy, and Opel Vivaro-e models. As mentioned above, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has already been confirmed to be in development for the Ram Truck brand, able to deliver a range of 200 miles when the truck meets the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating (GCWR) total combined weight, fast tank refilling, and faster recharging. Symbio is already working on a mid-power architecture to deliver a range of up to 300 miles and a recharge time of less than 10 minutes.
It’s wild. Who knew the electric vehicle boom would lead to so many things in such little time? It’s not even 2025 yet. Want to stay up to date with all of the new developments for Stellantis and Stellantis brands? Follow along with us on Aventura Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram social media.