PowerCell gets approval for phase 2 of the German industrial project Autostack Industrie

PowerCell Sweden AB has received an approval from the German authorities for phase 2 of the German industrial project Autostack Industrie.

The approval frees up grant funding possibilities for PowerCell of up to a maximum of €4.85 million ($5.38 million) for work carried out by PowerCell within the project.

The aim of the project is to develop a fuel cell stack for the German automotive industry and other partners of the project are, among others, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Volkswagen and the German research institute ZSW.

PowerCell had previously participated in phase 1 of the German industrial project Autostack Industrie and has now received the approval for phase 2 from the German authorities. Autostack Industrie is partly funded by German authorities and was launched to support the development of a fuel cell stack suitable for mass production for the German automotive industry. As a partner of the project, PowerCell is responsible for the design of the stack and for the development of a suitable production methodology.

Other partners of the project are Audi, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Reinz-Dichtungs GmbH (DANA), Ford-Werke GmbH, Freudenberg Performance Materials SE & Co. KG, Greenerity GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH, Umicore AG & Co. KG, Volkswagen AG and the research institute ZSW, Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg. The stack under development within Autostack Industrie is expected to be launched after 2022.

In conjunction with the approval from the German authorities, Germany's ambassador to Sweden, Dr Anna Prinz, visited Gothenburg and met with Per Wassén, CEO of PowerCell, and Per Ekdunge, President of PowerCell Germany. Per Wassén took the opportunity to inform the Ambassador about PowerCell and the role the fuel cell technology can play for the introduction of zero emission technologies within the automotive, the marine and the stationary power segments.

“The urgent need to phase out fossil fuels for environmental reasons, spells great opportunities for fuel cells and hydrogen and Germany is among the countries that are willing to invest in the technology within several segments,” said Per Wassén, CEO of PowerCell.