Bosch to manufacture S3 fuel cell stacks for PowerCell

PowerCell has signed an agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH to manufacture the S3 fuel cell stack for PowerCell. PowerCell thereby increases its production capacity significantly and focuses on scaling up the assembly and deliveries of fuel cell systems as well as development of the next generation of fuel cell stacks.

The demand for emission-free energy solutions is growing rapidly. In 2022, PowerCell signed significant agreements for fuel cell stacks and systems, including series deliveries to ZeroAvia, which manufactures emission-free aircraft. The agreement with ZeroAvia alone covers 5,000 fuel cell stacks with deliveries starting in 2024.

PowerCell and Bosch have a long-standing collaboration. Bosch is the world’s largest supplier to the automotive industry, and in April 2019 the two companies began a collaboration regarding the industrialization, production and sale of PowerCell S3. (Earlier post.)

The agreement gives Bosch the exclusive right to manufacture and sell PowerCell S3 for use in the automotive market. PowerCell itself has full rights for all other applications and segments. With the new agreement, Bosch will add PowerCell’s volumes of S3 to its own production.

Manufacturing takes place in Germany and Bosch delivers tested and activated 100 kW fuel cell stacks to PowerCell’s facility in Gothenburg. With the fuel cell stacks from Bosch, PowerCell builds segment-specific fuel cell systems to Marine, Aviation, Power Generation and Off-Road customers.

Incidentally, it was Nikola stopping their partnership with PowerCell which made me first think that they were talking nonsense.

PowerCell are about as good as it gets in fuel cells, but their specs are real, and that did not fit in with Nikola’s desire to inflate the readiness of the technology, so they got the sack.