Aiming for mass production by the end of the decade, cellcentric inaugurated pilot production of fuel cell systems at its Esslingen-Pliensauvorstadt site in Germany on 20 June.
Last May, the company presented its NextGen fuel cell system for the first time at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas, USA. Smaller, more powerful and more efficient, it is designed for long-distance hydrogen-powered trucks. Moreover, the company already has a pilot product close to serial production, which has been successfully tested by truck manufacturers Daimler Truck and Volvo Group in demanding field trials.
The modern Cellcentric production site in Esslingen-Pliensauvorstadt is well suited for the production of fuel cell systems. Over 100 employees have access to around 10,300 square metres of production, logistics and office/administration space. The plant is part of an industrial park and is located in the immediate vicinity of motorway 10.
Getting prepared to scale up
Lars Johansson, Chief Commercial Officer of cellcentric, says: “Fuel cell technology is a well-proven solution for CO2-neutral long-distance heavy-duty transportation. However, it has not yet been produced on an industrial scale, which is precisely the key to achieving economies of scale, optimizing the total cost of ownership (TCO) and putting cellcentric in a solid competitive position in the long term.” He then adds: “The opening of our pilot production facility in Esslingen today is not the end point of large-scale production, but rather the blueprint for the next step. In the coming years, we will continue to consistently drive forward the industrialization and scaling of production of fuel cell systems at the Weilheim site.”
cellcentric also wants to roll out maintenance and repair services, to minimise maintenance-related downtime and unexpected failures or breakdowns for users. The company is also focusing on circular economy, with refurbishment, reconditioning and recycling of fuel cell systems to extend their lifespan.
Do you want to learn more about cellcentric? Then our latest article on the Daimler-Volvo joint venture should interest you. You can read it here.
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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili
