Grove partners FEV and Hofer for advanced fuel-cell tech development

Grove Hydrogen Automotive signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Germany’s FEV Group and Germany-based powertrain R&D supplier Hofer Powertrain in Shanghai.

With the FEV Group, Grove plans to collaborate on a comprehensive co-development of mass-production vehicles and joint promotion of Grove. In the agreement with Hofer, both parties will come up with electronic drive solutions for Grove to seize opportunities in China's hydrogen vehicle market and enhance global competitiveness.

Grove Hydrogen Automotive is a fuel-cell vehicle startup that began as a research institute project with the backing of the Chinese Government. Its parent company, Wuhan Geological Resources and Environment Industrial Technology Research Institute (IGE), is gathering global hydrogen resources from each sector of the industrial chain. Grove is committed to building hydrogen cars with independent IP rights to refresh customers on their driving experiences.

FEV, with several R&D facilities in China, is also a partner to many domestic and international automobile manufacturers and suppliers. It has two major subsidiaries in China, namely FEV Dalian (established in 2004) and Hebei Ivey Powertrain (established in 2016) in Yanjiao District, Beijing. In addition, FEV China also has presence in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Hofer is an international powertrain R&D supplier, providing customers across the world with professional engineering support for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, racing cars, motorcycles and off-road vehicles from conceptual design to mass production.

Hofer is expected to boost the development of Grove hydrogen vehicles. As one of the core components in the new-energy automobile industry, motor drive control system determines the main performance of a car. Hofer from Germany, with a history of over 30 years, has accumulated technical experience in traditional transmission and new energy powertrain. Its highly-integrated electric drive system, as well as the electric vehicle control system, will contribute to lighter-weight, higher efficiency and better performance of new energy vehicles. Through the strategic cooperation between the two sides, Grove hydrogen vehicles could gain a leading technical edge and promote the development of hydrogen vehicles.

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