Faurecia is getting ready to be a totally unbiased firm after PSA Group divests its stake within the provider as a part of its merger with Fiat Chrysler Cars. Among the many initiatives Faurecia is pursuing is an annual funding of as much as €60 million ($71 million) in hydrogen expertise and cooperation with ZF on cockpit expertise.
CEO Patrick Koller, 61, spoke with Klaus-Dieter Floerecke of Automobilwoche, the German-language sibling publication of Automotive Information, in regards to the challenges forward for the trade’s No. 8 elements maker on Automotive Information‘ present rating of the highest world suppliers. Listed here are edited excerpts.
Q: You could have stated that you really want Faurecia to be the world chief in gas cells. How will you obtain this?
A: We’re already one of many only a few firms that may provide your complete system. And just a few suppliers are able to industrializing the expertise. For the time being, a very powerful factor is to give you sufficient quantity with a view to scale back prices.
Do you need to change into lively solely within the mobility sector or additionally in different industries?
With our hydrogen portfolio, we’re concentrating within the broadest sense on purposes within the on- and off-road sector, in transport and for rail automobiles.
What position does the Competence Heart for Hydrogen Storage Methods, which opened in Bavans, France, this summer time, play in your technique?
The middle focuses on the event of light-weight and cost-efficient hydrogen storage methods. It’s the solely certainly one of its type in Europe.
The native engineers and technicians have the talents to design and take a look at storage methods and to provide prototypes which might be tailor-made to buyer necessities. We’re additionally in a position to develop new industrial processes there to hurry up our manufacturing.
For the event of the gas cell stack, we intend to find in Lyon [in France]. Sooner or later, we not solely need to work along with our companion Michelin there, however we additionally need to accommodate our suppliers and analysis institutes right here.
Faurecia has a gas cell three way partnership with Michelin referred to as Symbio. Do you need to additional broaden that enterprise?
Symbio is nicely positioned to change into a catalyst for the large-scale introduction of hydrogen mobility, and the corporate advantages from the complementary strengths of Faurecia and Michelin.
Usually, we’re not searching for extra joint-venture companions however for firms with whom we are able to cooperate on the technical aspect.
How do you assess the alternatives for hydrogen expertise within the passenger-car sector?
Excellent, however it’s troublesome to foretell when the breakthrough will come. We anticipate that by 2030, round 30 % of the automobiles produced worldwide will likely be totally electrical. Of those 30 %, one-sixth of automobiles will in flip be hydrogen-powered, i.e. a complete of three [million] to five million automobiles. Of those, 50 % will likely be gentle business automobiles as present in supply site visitors, 20 % vans between 16 tons and 44 tons, and 30 % vans, primarily SUVs and U.S. gentle vans.
Nevertheless, hydrogen expertise will initially be used within the heavy-duty sector as a result of battery-electric options don’t work there. We checked out a truck drive with an influence output of 480 hp. This could require batteries weighing 6.6 tons. For a hydrogen drive with comparable energy and vary, the load can be 1.5 tons at most.
Are prices the largest drawback for the unfold of hydrogen expertise?
The diffusion of hydrogen expertise will likely be pushed by the competitiveness of hydrogen propulsion in comparison with competing propulsion applied sciences.
Resulting from its autonomy, payload and quick refueling efficiency, hydrogen would be the solely actual zero-emission resolution for a lot of segments, similar to giant vans and different intensive-use automobiles.
By means of innovation, technical optimization and scaling, the prices of gas cell methods will proceed to lower dramatically. Our aim is to scale back the price of hydrogen storage methods to 1 / 4 [of the cost now] by 2030 and the price of stacks and different elements to lower than a sixth.
How a lot cash has Faurecia invested in hydrogen expertise, and what different investments are you planning?
We’ve to date invested about €200 million ($236 million) in growth, partnerships and acquisitions.
We plan so as to add between €50 million and €60 million per yr. Above all, now we have entered on the proper time to take a number one position in hydrogen applied sciences.
Hydrogen expertise is being strongly promoted in France and Germany. Has this already resulted in orders for Faurecia?
Sure, now we have already obtained orders from European and Asian producers. I can provide you two examples that present that hydrogen methods are completely fitted to business use.
Faurecia will equip round 1,600 heavy-duty vans — equal to round 10,000 hydrogen storage methods — for Hyundai over a interval of 4 years from 2021, which can then be delivered to Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility in Switzerland. In 2023, we will even provide the hydrogen methods for the PSA Group and a fleet of business automobiles. Symbio will manufacture the gas cell stack methods.