PowerCell Sweden

PowerCell Sweden (PowerCell), a spin-off of the Volvo Group, develops and produces hydrogen fuel cell stacks and systems. The company has been listed on Nasdaq First North Stock Exchange since 2014. 

PowerCell offers low-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells that produce electricity and heat from hydrogen fuel, emitting only air and water. PowerCell’s unit cells consist of compact and lightweight metal bipolar plates combined with membrane electrode assemblies. Liquid cooling of the fuel cell stacks enables compact, high-power system integration. In October 2021, the company launched a new business segment, Transition Services, with the intention of allowing customers to switch to hydrogen-electric solutions easily. Transition Services will focus on four main areas: consultancy services, application projects, turnkey solutions, and training. 

The company offers solutions for the aviation industry (P System 100), marine industry (Marine System 200), automotive industry (PowerCell S3 fuel cell stack), off-road uses (Heavy Duty System 100), and for power generation (Power Generation System 5, Power Generation System 100, Power Generation System 200).

In February 2021, PowerCell launched the PowerCellution brand to sell and market fuel cell-related products and services, in addition to being a supplier of individual fuel cell stacks. Later that year, in October 2021, PowerCell launched a new business—Transition Services—to help customers transition to hydrogen-electric solutions, by providing consulting services, training, and turnkey solutions.

The company remained in development stages until the end of 2020 when the company reported a number of customers in the process of evaluating the product including Robert Bosch, Japanese retailer Inabata, and Swiss global technology company Hitachi ABB Power Grids, among others. 

The company has a facility in Gothenburg, which it equipped with a fully integrated solar cell solution for its own production of green hydrogen in December 2021. Since April 2019, PowerCell has contracted Robert Bosch, a German multinational engineering and technology company, to produce and sell its PowerCell S3 fuel cell stack for the automotive industry.

As of February 2023, the company had a presence in Sweden, Norway, China, and Australia and New Zealand (through a distribution agreement with ENGV), with plans to establish a presence in the US.

Key customers and partnerships

In October 2022, PowerCell signed a deal with zero-emission aviation company ZeroAvia to deliver 5,000 low-temperature proton exchange membrane (LTPEM) fuel cell stacks, reportedly the world’s first serial supply of hydrogen fuel stacks to the aviation industry. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two companies in July 2022 .

PowerCell’s other customers include UK-based ColGar Energy (a subsidiary of the Vantastec Group, for its VS5 fuel cell system), German aircraft developer H2FLY (for deliveries of fuel cell systems for aircraft), Norwegian zero-emission maritime solutions provider SEAM (for its Marine System 200), US-based Amogy (for the supply of fuel cell systems and related services), US-based Maritime Partners (for its Marine System 200), US-based Kaizen Clean Energy (for its Power Generation System 200), Siemens Energy (for a 100 kW marine fuel cell module), Norway-based Prototech (for a 185 kW high-power marine fuel cell module), and the University of Texas (for an MS-100 fuel cell system).

PowerCell has also joined several joint development projects: the European Camelot development project, which aims to produce membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells (January 2022); the Newborn project, part of the EU's Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, which aims to develop a new 300 kW product platform for aviation (February 2023); and H2Marine, a 42-month EU project to develop fuel cells for marine applications (February 2024). In addition, in March 2024, the company partnered with Hitachi Energy, the Port of Gothenburg, Skanska, the Volvo Group, and Linde Gas to develop HyFlex, a flexible container solution using PowerCell’s 100 kW hydrogen fuel cell.

Funding and financials

The company reported revenues of SEK 310.3 million (USD 29.4 million) and a net loss of SEK 63 million (USD 6 million) in 2023.