Faurecia Ties up with CEA for Development of Fuel Cells

Faurecia has announced that it has signed a five year agreement with the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) to work together on a research and development program that will focus on fuel cell stack technologies.

CEA has more than 20 years of experience in fuel stacks and their key components like bipolar plates. Faurecia will definitely benefit from this expertise and will be able to use this in tandem with the company’s own expertise in fluid dynamics and catalysis. With the this collaboration, Faurecia is hoping to develop, mass-produce and commercialize a high performance fuel cell stack that will be able to cater to the needs of the auto industry.

Commenting on the partnership, Patrick Koller, Chief Executive Officer of Faurecia said that the tieup with CEA marks an important new step in Faurecia’s strategy to develop a reliable offer for fuel cell technologies. He said that he is convinced that fuel cell technology,  which offers large autonomy and fast refueling times, will coexist with battery electric vehicles, especially in the case of commercial vehicles, where it will be an effective alternative. Hydrogen production is also an efficient way to store green electricity.

Florence Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of the CEA-Liten added that CEA has been involved for more than twenty years in the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cells in order to meet the challenges of clean mobility. He said his organization was pleased to support Faurecia in its quest to develop viable fuel cells for the electric vehicle market.

Faurecia also recently finalized an agreement with STELIA Aerospace Composites and has invested in Ad-Venta for the development of high-pressure hydrogen tanks and compact valves.