Toyota eyes stake in Daimler-Volvo Cellcentric fuel cell joint venture for trucks

The five-year-old fuel cell company employs more than 560 people and is aiming to begin series production around the turn of the decade.
April 2, 2026
3 min read

Key takeaways

  • Toyota may take a one-third stake in Cellcentric, expanding a fuel cell joint venture  led by Daimler Truck and Volvo Group.
  • The partnership combines commercial vehicle expertise with Toyota’s 30-plus  years of fuel cell development to advance hydrogen technology.
  • Series production of fuel cell systems is targeted around the decade’s end.
Toyota Motor Corp.
From left: Karin Rådström, president and CEO of Daimler Truck; Koji Sato, president of Toyota Motor Corp., and Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of Volvo Group

From left: Karin Rådström, president and CEO of Daimler Truck; Koji Sato, president of Toyota Motor Corp., and Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of Volvo Group

The leaders of Daimler Truck AG, Volvo Group, and Toyota have inked a deal that aims to have the Japanese auto giant become an equal partner in Cellcentric, a fuel cell company founded five years ago by the other two manufacturers.

The agreement between the prominent OEMs is non-binding, and the companies aren’t yet disclosing how much Toyota might invest to become a one-third owner of Cellcentric. The joint venture finished 2025 with shareholders’ equity of about $1.55 billion, according to Daimler Truck’s recent annual report.

In a statement, executives said that they’re bringing together the commercial-vehicle expertise of Daimler Truck and Volvo with Toyota’s experience over more than three decades developing fuel cells and related technologies. Volvo President and CEO Martin Lundstedt said, “Great companies coming together and collaborating is more important than ever” when it comes to net-zero transportation.

In addition, executives said, plans call for Toyota and Cellcentric teams to jointly develop and produce fuel cell unit cells, the systems’ core components, as well as linked architecture and control elements.

“Joining forces with the world’s largest automotive manufacturer and fuel cell pioneer is a privilege for us—and a game changer in making hydrogen in transportation a reality and Cellcentric the go‑to place for fuel cell technology in commercial vehicles worldwide,” Andreas Gorbach, the Daimler Truck board member responsible for truck technology and a former Cellcentric CEO, stated.

Daimler Truck and Volvo created Cellcentric as an independent and autonomous entity in March 2021 with the aim of refining fuel cell technology for heavy-duty and off-road transport as well as heavy-duty stationary uses. The venture is now home to more than 560 people in three German locations, as well as in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Cellcentric
The Cellcentric NextGen fuel cell system

The Cellcentric NextGen fuel cell system

In their annual report, Daimler Truck executives said they and their Volvo counterparts last year each invested about $120 million into Cellcentric and that Daimler’s stake in the venture generated a 2025 net loss of about $140 million. That was a notable improvement from 2024, when the JV needed to take an impairment charge to account for slower-than-expected development of green hydrogen infrastructure in the United States and Europe.

Leaders of Cellcentric early this year said they had tapped BRUSA HyPower AG to make its fuel cell interfaces. The goal for the project is to begin series production around the turn of the decade. Alongside those efforts, Daimler Truck and Volvo last June also set up another joint venture, Coretura AB, to develop a software-defined vehicle platform on a similar timeframe.

“We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to soon be joining Daimler Truck and Volvo Group as partners in building a hydrogen society,” Toyota President and CEO Koji Sato said in the three companies’ joint statement. “Cellcentric, which possesses deep expertise in commercial fields, together with Toyota’s over 30 years of fuel-cell development in the passenger car sector can combine their strengths to deliver one of the world-leading fuel cell systems for heavy commercial vehicles.”

About the Author

Geert De Lombaerde
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Geert De Lombaerde

Senior Editor

A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of experience in business journalism. Since 2021, he has written about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications FleetOwner, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, Oil & Gas Journal, and T&D World. 

With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati. He later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector and many of its publicly traded companies.

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