The Catalan automotive industry wants to bet on the fuel cell and be a European benchmark

The Catalan automotive industry wants to make a clear commitment to fuel cell technology and turn Catalonia into a developer, manufacturer and marketer of this product. This is demonstrated by the meeting this January, organized by the CIAC, in which more than 20 companies have begun to discuss how to be one of the leading manufacturers in Europe, with an initial production capacity of 20,000 units per year with a power of 100 kW. This technology could be applied to vehicles such as cars, trains, buses and trucks, as it allows them to travel more kilometers than electric batteries.

The project, which is part of the tractor proposals submitted to the government of the Generalitat to qualify for Next Generation funds, would have a cost of about 60 million euros and a schedule that would range from two to four years, i.e., to start production in 2025.

The appropriation of the electric battery manufacturing market by China and the fact that there is still no fuel cell production line make it a very attractive technological and industrial option. The forecast is that up to 50 CIAC companies could be part of this new industry.