Stellantis to invest in hydrogen technology sector
Stellantis, the multinational automaker, has announced its intention to invest in Symbio, a startup specializing in hydrogen-powered transportation. Faurecia and Michelin are already stakeholders in the company, and Stellantis will join them as an investor.
According to Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, the company's investment in Symbio aligns with its plans to roll out hydrogen-powered vehicles in Europe and the United States. Tavares stated that Symbio's technology roadmap "precisely corresponds" with Stellantis' goals, and added that the partnership will allow Stellantis to offer low-emission options to consumers more quickly. In addition to electric cars, this partnership will allow Stellantis to explore other low-emission transportation options.
Stellantis has shown a commitment to launching fully electric and hybridized vehicles, such as the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, but the company is also considering other options for cleaner transportation. Like Toyota, Stellantis is not convinced that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the only solution to the global challenge of reducing emissions from transportation. As a result, Stellantis is exploring a range of options in addition to BEVs in order to provide consumers with low-emission transportation choices.
As a conglomerate, Stellantis will be able to share the benefits of this investment with multiple businesses within the company. This approach has already shown promising results since the creation of Stellantis in 2018. The other stakeholders in Symbio, including Faurecia and Michelin, also have a positive outlook on the potential opportunities and advantages of this joint venture.
Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, stated that the company is convinced that hydrogen fuel cell technology will play a significant role in decarbonizing transportation and other industries. Menegaux added that the inclusion of Stellantis as a stakeholder in Symbio will further reinforce this belief and catalyze the industrial progress already made with Faurecia.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval and the fulfillment of other closing conditions. However, it will likely be some time before Symbio's technology becomes widely available to the public through Stellantis vehicles.
It is encouraging to see that more and more major automakers are considering alternatives to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in their efforts to be more environmentally friendly. Companies such as Toyota, BMW, Honda, Volkswagen, and others have been actively researching and developing hydrogen-powered cars for some time.
It is likely that in the future, we will have a wider range of low-emission transportation options to choose from, rather than being limited to electric vehicles. The entry of Stellantis into the fuel cell market is just one example of the diversity of options that may become available.
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