SAN DIEGO — The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded Symbio North America a $9 million grant to support the establishment of a new industrial facility in Temecula, Calif. for hydrogen fuel cell vehicle power systems and vehicle assembly.
Symbio, a Faurecia & Michelin joint venture, is a leading innovative partner for Hydrogen mobility, with more than 30 years of experience and 6 million kilometers driven. A world reference in hydrogen fuel cell systems, Symbio combines industrial leadership and innovation excellence with entrepreneurial agility to deliver zero-emission mobility.
Symbio Fuel Cell drastically reduces vehicle refueling time to 3-5 minutes and enhances range without compromising on performance, payload and capacity. The Temecula 32,000 square feet facility will assemble regional heavy-duty fuel cell Class 8 trucks, medium duty fuel cell vehicles, as well as fuel cell power systems, and will create 63 permanent skilled manufacturing positions over 3 years. It is expected to be operational by 2024 and with a maximum production capacity of 250 trucks and 2,000 fuel cell power systems per year, allowing the industry to expedite Hydrogen-powered zero emission heavy-duty mobility deployment in California.
The CEC grant will support Symbio in developing its manufacturing footprint in the U.S. and contribute to meet the growing interest and demands by OEMs for clean mobility technology. Furthermore, this grant will also support the establishment of Symbio Hydrogen Academy providing workforce training in the U.S. Symbio North America is collaborating with UC Riverside, California State LA University and Cerritos College to develop hydrogen academic programs, leveraging Symbio Hydrogen Academy’s support and existing contents developed in Europe. The resulting programs will be made available to the incumbent technicians in the Michelin Commercial Service Network. The objective is to train at least 185 professional, students, technicians, and fleet operators by 2025.
This is the second CEC award received by Symbio following the grant announcement in April 2022 to support the “Symbio H2 Central Valley Express” project* -- a heavy-duty fuel cell truck demonstration project with Symbio fuel cell technology to showcase the benefits and reliability of hydrogen mobility for regional transportation. Both projects strive to support California’s goal to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045.
Said Rob Del Core, General Manager, Symbio North America: “We are honored by the trust that the CEC has placed in us for the second time. This is a testimony to the strong credentials of our Group and its shareholders. While the H2-powered class-8 truck under the “Symbio H2 Central Valley Express project“ is in good progress to hit the road early next year, this award contributes to a strategic first development of Symbio’s manufacturing footprint in the region. Symbio aims at playing a major role in supporting the adoption of the Hydrogen powered mobility and deployment over time of a world class gigafactory to serve the U.S. market needs as Hydrogen is recognized by the federal government as a key lever to achieving its ambitious’ climate goals.”
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