With focus and speed into the next phase

Kirchheim Teck-Nabern – cellcentric, the 50:50 fuel cell joint venture of Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, announces an update to its product and industrialization strategy and a related change in organizational structure to respond to changing market conditions and position the company even better for future growth and success.

Since the company’s inception in March 2021, market conditions have changed significantly. In particular, the slow progress in providing sufficient hydrogen infrastructure and an appropriate hydrogen price is delaying the initially predicted market ramp-up for fuel cells. At the same time, there are positive developments, such as the continuous technological leaps in fuel cells and a growing market potential in a wide variety of heavy-duty applications, which is triggered by decisions in CO₂ legislation, such as the recent investment surge in hydrogen triggered by the US government’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The latter developments, in particular, represent a great opportunity for cellcentric, which the company wants to take advantage of and has therefore made adjustments to its product and industrialization strategy. On the product side, new product innovations with significantly increased efficiency, optimized system architecture and improved waste heat concept are in preparation, with the aim of further optimizing the total cost of ownership of the product for the end customer. The company is responding to the delayed market ramp-up with a staggered ramp-up of series production depending on market demand, with the start of production at the existing pre-series site in Esslingen and subsequent scaling at the planned Klima|werk in Weilheim.

Structural changes for consistent implementation

With the completion of this new strategic orientation, Dr. Matthias Jurytko, Chief Executive Officer with responsibility for Legal & Intellectual Property, External Affairs, Sales, Marketing and Communication, Quality Management and Corporate Strategy, will step down from his position as Chairman of the Management Board at his own request on April 30, 2024 and will be available to the company in an advisory capacity until the end of the year. This decision is based on the successful completion of the start-up phase and the successful adoption of the company’s strategic orientation. “After the definition and adoption of the product and industrialization strategy and the successful start of the transformation of the company’s processes and structures, a new phase in the development of cellcentric is now beginning. This phase is characterized by the consistent implementation of the decisions made, which I place in the trustworthy hands of my existing managing director colleagues. In this context, the tasks of the CEO will be integrated into the existing structures,” says Matthias Jurytko.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG: “We respect Matthias Jurytko’s decision and thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his great commitment and outstanding work over the past three years. Under his leadership, cellcentric has strategically realigned itself, successfully mastered the start-up phase and laid the foundations for large-scale production, which we are convinced will set standards. We wish Matthias Jurytko all the best for his future.”

After completing his doctorate, Dr. Jurytko joined what was then Mercedes-Benz AG in 1990. After holding various positions in Stuttgart, Kassel, South Africa and Rastatt, he took over as Head of Controlling and Accounting at Mercedes-Benz Engines in Mannheim in 2001 before taking over as Head of Controlling for the Powertrain Daimler Trucks division in 2006. Prior to his current position, Jurytko was head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth and before that he was head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau.

Together with the shareholders, the cellcentric management team, consisting of Nicholas Loughlan, Lars Johansson and Niklas Ekström, has decided to integrate the areas and tasks previously held by the CEO into the existing corporate structure and thus leave the implementation in the hands of those who have also been involved in the development of the strategy this is now to be implemented. From now on, the goal of the management is to drive forward the implementation of the product and industrialization strategy in a focused manner and at high speed, thus further strengthening the company’s competitive position in the developing market environment in order to make cellcentric a leading Tier 1 manufacturer of fuel cells.