Michelin's hydrogen partners: 4 things to know about Symbio's stakeholders

Symbio—Michelin's hydrogen-fuel-cell focused joint venture with Faurecia S.E.—may be getting a third, key partner.

And in the process, Symbio's technologies and vision for carbon-neutral mobility are getting a stamp of approval.

In a joint statement issued late in December, Michelin, Faurecia and Stellantis said that the auto maker was in negotiations to take a "substantial stake" in Symbio.

"By the intention of acquiring a stake in Symbio, Stellantis confirms the robustness of Michelin and Faurecia's approach to creating a global leader in zero-emission mobility," Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said in the statement. "The new setup will accelerate and globalize Symbio's growth to the benefit of its customers."

Here are 4 things you need to know about Symbio and the companies involved in the negotiations.

When Symbio launched in 2019, it did not mark Michelin's first foray into hydrogen technology.

Far from it.

The technology has been on Michelin's radar and part of its research and development efforts for just about 20 years, seeing as it combined the tire makers' materials expertise with its pledge to protect the planet. And when global efforts surrounding sustainability began to pick up and take shape, Michelin became more grounded in its belief that hydrogen was a viable and important component to moving forward.

For manufacturing. For heating.

And, yes, for mobility.

"Michelin is convinced that hydrogen fuel cell technology will make an effective contribution to decarbonizing mobility and even beyond," Michelin Group CEO Florent Menegaux said in a joint statement regarding Symbio's potential new partner. "This is what led Michelin to pioneer in this technology for more than 20 years. The arrival of Stellantis in Symbio's capital would reinforce this conviction and would catalyze the tremendous industrial momentum we have built with Faurecia."

When it comes to Symbio, Faurecia brings key expertise in the hydrogen mobility arena: namely, storage.

The company, part of Forvia Group, designs and produces hydrogen storage systems with an eye on its commitment to addressing climate change, ensuring a more circular industry and taking innovation further.

That innovation was on display Jan. 5-8 at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas when the company showcased its latest prismatic storage tank design. The prismatic tank can help auto makers optimize storage capacity, while meeting electric vehicle packaging requirements and enhancing recyclability, according to Faurecia.

"As one of the industry pioneers in hydrogen storage system development, we are prepared to deliver next-generation solutions to help auto makers address critical zero-emission and fuel-cell integration challenges," Faurecia said in a Dec. 15 news release.

In the mobility space, specifically, hydrogen technology's greatest potential appears to lie in heavy-duty and off-road vehicles as well as those with high-horsepower engines. Factor in the benefits of fast-charging—hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could charge in as little as three to five minutes—as well as economic benefits, and Faurecia like Michelin believes the technology is poised to take off.

By the end of the decade, Faurecia expects the total cost of ownership of HFCVs to overtake BEVs, leading to about 5 million HFCVs on roadways. To this end, Faurecia is committed to, by 2030, growing its storage tank manufacturing capacity across three sites: a high-capacity site in France, another in France dedicated to low-volume programs, and a plant in Asia that is intended to better serve what Faurecia sees as a vital hydrogen mobility market.

But the global market for hydrogen technology is promising as well. Faurecia, in 2020, estimated that green hydrogen could meet at least 20 percent of the world's energy demand by 2050, and in the process eliminate as much as 6 gigatons of CO2 emissions annually.

Stellantis has its own kind of moonshot in mind.

Meet "Dare Forward 2030."

The auto maker, which formed in 2021 with the $52 billion merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, envisions—among other aims—to be "the industry champion in the fight against climate change."

To do that, the company intends to achieve carbon net-zero emissions by 2038, and record a 50-percent reduction in emissions by the end of the decade.

"Taking a leadership role in decarbonization, as well as a decisive step forward in the circular economy, is our contribution to a sustainable future," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement when Dare Forward 2030 was introduced last March.

While BEVs will play a key role in its efforts to achieve those goals—the company is targeting balanced BEV sales across the globe, with particular emphasis on Europe and the U.S.—hydrogen fuel cells play a significant role as well.

Stellantis launched hydrogen vans late in 2021 and intends to expand those offerings in Europe as early as next year. By 2025, the auto maker hopes to bring hydrogen van options to the U.S.

And those light commercial vehicles offered by Stellantis brands—well, they're already driven by Symbio fuel cell technology.

"Symbio's technical road map perfectly matches with Stellantis' hydrogen roll-out plans in Europe and in the U.S. This move will foster the speed of development to bring low emission products to our customers, beyond traditional electric vehicles," Tavares said. "We're grateful to the teams at Faurecia, Michelin and Symbio for their commitment to innovation, excellence, and collaboration as we all work to achieve decarbonized mobility."

Since it's launch nearly four years ago, Symbio's made significant strides.

Most recently the company set forth a plan to further harness the potential of its hydrogen technology. In October, Symbio offered a detailed look at a roughly $1 billion investment to be rolled out over the next seven years in France. At the heart of the two-phase project, dubbed HyMotive, are plans to manufacture in France 100,000 fuel cell systems annually.

HyMotive's first phase aims to accelerate the timeline for SymphonHy, a gigafactory already under construction in Saint-Fons, France. Symbio anticipates the plant being one of the largest fuel cell system production sites on the continent with a total annual capacity of about 50,000 systems.

In addition to housing manufacturing, the Saint-Fons site will serve as Symbio's headquarters and R&D center. Symbio's Hydrogen Academy, an incubator for start-ups focused on zero-emissions, hydrogen-centered solutions, also will find a home there.

The plant is expected to come online later this year and support automotive customers—especially Stellantis—as they look to roll out hydrogen fuel cell vehicle offerings.

During its second phase, HyMotive aims to further the capabilities of its fuel cell systems with next-generation technology that not only will improve performance, but reduce per-unit costs.

And it all propels the company toward its goal to be the global leader in hydrogen technology.

"We are enthused by these fast-forward developments that position Symbio well on track toward our strategic ambition to be a leading global actor in Fuel Cell Technology and reach 1.5 billion EUR turnover and an annual production of 200,000 Stackpacks across continents by 2030," Symbio CEO Philippe Rosier said in a statement. "Our aim is to be the strategic innovative partner of our customers, helping them to accelerate the deployment of their road maps for a zero-emission, silent and performant hydrogen mobility, thus building together a decarbonized positive future."

Symbio continues to take its technology global, having recently broken into the North American market.

And to prove just how effective the technology can be, Michelin and Faurecia are putting it to the ultimate test with the development and deployment of a Class-8, hydrogen-fuel-cell truck that will take to California roadways later this year. It marks a major step forward for the joint venture, which is making in-roads in the U.S. and beyond.