Bosch is taking over production of the S3 fuel cell stack from Swedish manufacturer Powercell. The finished stacks are to be delivered to Gothenburg. According to its own statements, Power Cell is thus significantly increasing its production capacity.
In the course of outsourcing production, the Gothenburg-based company intends to concentrate more on scaling up assembly and sales of its fuel cell systems. It is also developing the next generation of fuel cell stacks.
Cooperation since 2019
The two companies had agreed in April 2019 to cooperate on sales, production and development of the PowerCell S3. This gave Bosch the exclusive right to manufacture and sell the PowerCell S3 for the automotive market.
"The agreement with Bosch significantly increases our production capacity and gives us the opportunity to effectively serve the rapidly growing demand for our leading hydrogen electric solutions," said Richard Berkling, CEO of PowerCell.
PowerCell itself, on the other hand, would have the rights for all other applications and segments, e.g. in marine, distributed power generation and aerospace. In 2022 in particular, PowerCell signed numerous supply contracts for fuel cell stacks and systems, including to aircraft manufacturer ZeroAviat. This contract alone covers 5,000 fuel cell stacks with delivery starting in 2024, he said.
Manufacturing in Germany
The new agreement is expected to enable Bosch to incorporate the quantities of the S3 previously produced by PowerCell into its own production. Manufacturing will take place in Germany - at which plant is still unclear. Bosch will ship the 100-kW fuel cell stacks to PowerCell in Gothenburg after testing and activation.
"The supply contract is one of the results of several years of good cooperation between Bosch and PowerCell. It supports our goals for zero-emission mobility and contributes to the development of Bosch fuel cell technology in Europe. We are pleased to support PowerCell with our expanded manufacturing capabilities," said Thomas Wintrich, SVP Business Unit Fuel Cell Mobility Solutions at Bosch.
