EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, the fuel cell joint venture between ElringKlinger and Plastic Omnium, has received an order from an unnamed European car manufacturer for fuel cell stacks for use in a future production vehicle.
The agreement involves the development of a customised stack for the global OEM’s future fuel cell production vehicle, the name of which was not disclosed. In addition to the development, the order also includes the delivery of prototypes and amounts to a volume in the single-digit million euro range. Delivery of the stacks is scheduled to begin this year.
“Our customer has exacting quality standards with regard to its vehicles and the associated production conditions. We are all the more delighted that we were able to present a compelling proposition based on our development and technological expertise,” said Dr. Gernot Stellberger, Managing Director of EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, adding: “Hydrogen plays a key role as an energy carrier on the path to climate neutrality. The latest contract illustrates that hydrogen is also set to become increasingly important when it comes to personal mobility. EKPO’s fuel cell technology offers matching solutions for this purpose.”
EKPO Fuel Cell has been steadily ramping up its business globally and announced a similar contract in Europe last September. However, the joint venture is not focusing entirely on European OEMs, and launched a subsidiary in China last year, after announcing plans to enter the market in late 2021. That is fairly impressive timing, considering the fuel cell component manufacturer only was launched in October 2020.
Keyword: EKPO announces major FC component order in Europe