Toyota in Talks to Join Volvo and Daimler Truck as Equal Partner in Fuel Cell Venture

Toyota Motor Corporation has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG to become an equal shareholder in cellcentric, their fuel cell technology joint venture. If finalized, the agreement would give Toyota a one-third stake in the company alongside its two existing shareholders, marking a significant expansion of one of the industry's most prominent hydrogen collaborations.

The collaboration would focus on developing, producing, and commercializing fuel cell systems for heavy-duty on- and off-road vehicles, as well as stationary applications with comparable requirements. As part of the arrangement, Toyota and cellcentric also intend to jointly manage the development and production of fuel cell unit cells — the core component of fuel cell systems — along with directly linked architecture and control elements. The goal, the companies said, is to produce competitive products drawing on the technologies of both parties.

The partnership is structured around the idea of combining capabilities that the companies describe as complementary. Volvo and Daimler Truck bring decades of experience in commercial vehicle engineering and manufacturing, along with established customer relationships across the freight and logistics sectors. Toyota, meanwhile, has developed fuel cell technology for passenger vehicles since the early 1990s and commercially launched the Mirai hydrogen sedan in 2014. By pooling these strengths through cellcentric, the three companies said they aim to improve the competitiveness and commercial viability of fuel cell systems at a scale that none could easily achieve independently.

Volvo Group President and CEO Martin Lundstedt said the partnership would help create the scale necessary for hydrogen applications to gain traction. "Given the importance of accelerating the transformation into net-zero transportation, the need of great companies coming together and collaborating is more important than ever," he said. Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström described hydrogen as a technology that must complement battery-electric drives in decarbonizing transport. Toyota President Koji Sato cited the company's more than 30 years of fuel cell development as a foundation for what it brings to the venture, and said Toyota would continue contributing to a hydrogen society "alongside like-minded partners."

cellcentric Managing Director Nicholas Loughlan called Toyota's intention to join "a great sign of trust" from one of the world's leading automotive companies, and said the new structure would allow the venture to improve across its entire value chain.

cellcentric was founded in 2021 as a joint venture between Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG. The company employs more than 560 people across sites in Kirchheim/Teck, Esslingen, and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as Burnaby in Canada. It holds roughly 700 patents in fuel cell technology and is positioned as a tier-one supplier of fuel cell systems to a broad customer base, not exclusively to its founding shareholders. The company will continue to operate as an independent and autonomous entity under the proposed three-way structure.

The three companies said they intend to continue competing independently in all other areas of their respective businesses. Beyond the joint venture itself, the partners said they also plan to work with industry associations and stakeholders across the hydrogen supply chain to support the development of hydrogen infrastructure, particularly in the early stages of market development. The partnership is framed in part as a contribution toward meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal and Japan's hydrogen society legislation.

The heavy-duty transport sector has faced particular pressure to find decarbonization pathways, given that battery-electric technology presents greater challenges at scale for long-haul freight than it does for passenger vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cells have been proposed as one solution, though the technology still faces hurdles around production costs, refueling infrastructure, and commercial deployment at scale. Partnerships like the one being proposed through cellcentric are seen by industry observers as an effort to accelerate progress on those fronts by spreading development costs and consolidating expertise.

The agreement remains non-binding, and the parties said they are working toward a legally binding deal subject to approval from their respective boards and relevant regulatory authorities. Volvo Group stated that the transaction, if completed, is not expected to have a material impact on its financial results or position.