Toyota Volvo and Daimler Truck Join Hands in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Joint Venture

Toyota Motor Corporation is set to become an equal partner in cellcentric -- the hydrogen fuel cell joint venture (JV) owned by Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG, after the three companies signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding. Under the proposed deal, Toyota would acquire a one-third shareholding in cellcentric, placing it on equal footing with its two co-owners in what would represent a substantial deepening of one of the automotive industry's most high-profile hydrogen collaborations.

The venture's work would centre on developing, manufacturing and commercialising fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicles, both on- and off-road, as well as stationary power applications with similar technical demands. Toyota and cellcentric also plan to jointly oversee the development and production of fuel cell unit cells, the fundamental building blocks of any fuel cell system, along with closely related architecture and control components. 

The stated ambition is to bring competitive products to market by drawing on the combined technological expertise of all three partners.

Volvo and Daimler Truck bring extensive experience in commercial vehicle (CV) design and production, along with well-established relationships throughout the freight and logistics industries. Toyota, for its part, has been developing fuel cell technology for passenger cars since the early 1990s and became one of the first manufacturers to bring a hydrogen vehicle to market commercially with the launch of the Mirai saloon in 2014. 

By combining these capabilities through cellcentric, the three partners say the firms hope to achieve a scale of development and production that would be difficult for any one of them to reach alone.

Volvo Group's President and Chief Executive Martin Lundstedt said the tie-up would help generate the scale hydrogen applications need to become commercially viable. 

Daimler Truck Chief Executive Karin Rådström described hydrogen as a technology that must work alongside battery-electric powertrains in the broader effort to decarbonise road transport. Toyota's President Koji Sato pointed to the company's three decades of fuel cell research as the foundation for its contribution to the venture, adding that Toyota would press ahead with building a hydrogen society "alongside like-minded partners."

Cellcentric Managing Director Nicholas Loughlan welcomed Toyota's intention to join as "a great sign of trust" from one of the world's foremost automotive manufacturers, saying the expanded structure would allow the company to strengthen its offer across the whole of its value chain.

Cellcentric was established in 2021 as a joint venture between Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG. It now employs more than 560 people across facilities in Kirchheim/Teck, Esslingen, and Stuttgart in Germany, and Burnaby in Canada. 

The company holds around 700 patents in fuel cell technology and operates as a tier-one systems supplier serving a broad customer base, rather than solely its founding shareholders. It would continue to function as an independent entity under the new three-way structure.

The three companies stressed that they would continue to compete independently across all other areas of their businesses. 

They also said they intend to engage with industry bodies and partners across the hydrogen supply chain to support the build-out of refuelling infrastructure, particularly during the critical early stages of market development. The partnership is partly framed as a contribution towards the goals of the European Green Deal and Japan's national hydrogen legislation.

The memorandum of understanding is non-binding. The firms said they are working towards a legally binding agreement, subject to board approval and sign-off from relevant regulatory authorities. Volvo Group noted that the transaction, should it proceed, is not expected to have a material effect on its financial results.