French component supplier has announced that it has acquired exclusive access to the intellectual property and process know-how of composite hydrogen tanks from Stelia Aerospace Composites.

Faurecia is now, with the support of Stelia Aerospace Composites, able to design, industrialise and commercialise high pressure hydrogen tanks made of carbon fibre composites for fuel cell electric vehicles.

According to Patrick Koller, CEO of Faurecia, “Faurecia has the ambition to become a leading supplier of fuel cell technology. We believe in this new energy vehicle alternative which has increased autonomy and rapid refueling time. In addition, hydrogen can be produced locally using sustainable technology. ”

Fuel cell technology is a long-term electric vehicle solution which offers increased autonomy (over 500km) and quicker refueling time compared to battery electric vehicles. By 2035, Faurecia estimates that 5 million vehicles equipped with fuel cell technology could be in production. Carbon fibre composite is the ideal material for hydrogen tanks which have to withstand the high pressure (700bars) whilst being as light as possible.

This acquisition complements the investment that Faurecia recently made in Ad-Venta, a specialist in pressure valves for efficient and safe hydrogen storage. Ad-Venta developed a unique, reliable and compact valve which allows pressure management from 700 to 10 bars for delivery to the fuel cell.