Michelin sells stake in Symbio to Stellantis

Clermont-Ferrand, France - Michelin has completed the sale of part of its shareholding in hydrogen fuel cell mobility company Symbio to Stellantis.

Completed on 27 July, the deal gives Stellantis an equal stake alongside Michelin and Forvia in the company: each shareholder holding 33.33% ownership.

The deal is a "step towards the decarbonisation of the mobility industry and illustrates Symbio’s technological [capabilities] in hydrogen fuel cell innovations," said Michelin.

The addition of Stellantis as a shareholder will boost Symbio’s development across Europe and in the US, the French tire & rubber group added.

This sale reflects "the remarkable value development of Symbio since the JV started operating in 2020," added Michelin, noting that "it will contribute €150 million to the group’s cash."

Among the main strategic programmes for hydrogen fuel cell stacks supplier Symbio, is a project to invest €1 billion to help develop the hydrogen energy industry across France.

To be conducted in two phases by 2028, the project will accelerate the industrialisation and mass-production of its current-generation fuel cell systems, Symbio said last October.

Phase I will establish “one of the largest fuel cell system production sites in Europe,” – a 'gigafactory' in Saint-Fons with capacity of produce 50,000 systems a year.

The plant will support automotive customers, particularly Stellantis, which aims to produce up to 10,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2024.

In the phase II, the operation will develop and industrialise a new generation of innovative fuel cell systems at "drastically" reduced unit production costs.

With the second-phase “gigafactory”, Symbio said its production capacity in France will reach 100,000 systems by 2028.