Symbio will unveil its new fuel cells at the CES

The fuel cell manufacturer will be back at Las Vegas CES, where it will unveil the new developments regarding its technology a well as its roadmap.

With a technology tested over 6 million km and a range of StackPacks covering a wide power range from 40 to 300 kW, the joint venture between Faurecia and Michelin is able to meet a wide range of customer use cases.

The Consumer Electronics Show, an event being held in the US (a country in which the company is expanding*), will be an opportunity for Symbio to make some announcements. First is about Stellantis, which will benefit from its optimised StackPack 40. The system will be industrialised on a large scale by the end of 2023, in order to deploy hydrogen on the group’s various platforms. Its lifespan has been extended to 7,000 hours.

But the CES will above all be an opportunity to talk about the new generation of more compact fuel cells.

2 versions of the StackPack

The first version of the StackPack (‘NG1’) will be delivered to customers for testing from the second quarter of 2023 and should start being produced for small fleets of vehicles from the first half of 2024. This 75 kW system, which has a power density of 4.9 kW/L and a durability of 20,000 hours, is intended for buses, coaches and commercial vehicles. Symbio will also offer a 150 kW twin-stack system and 300 kW twin-system solutions.

A second version of StackPack (“NG2”) is already in development. Its metal bipolar plate technology will make it possible to reach a power density of more than 6 kW/L. In addition, its MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) can withstand operating temperatures exceeding 100°C, while having a lifespan of over 20,000 hours. This version will be available in power levels from 130 to 160kW, to meet the needs of SUVs, pick-ups and other heavy-duty vehicles. The first systems will be shipped to customers for testing in the first half of 2024, with mass production scheduled to begin in late 2026.

Finally, Symbio will introduce its brand new Full Stack Monitoring (FSM) technology that will be deployed on all its next-generation StackPacks. It will enable maintenance prediction and remote diagnosis. According to Symbio, these features will increase fuel cells life by up to 20%.

*The US subsidiary is building its first production line in Poway, California. It is expected to be fully operational by early 2023.

Do you want to learn more about Symbio? Then our latest 2 articles on the French company should interest you. You can read them here and there. 

Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King