Stellantis Pulls Out of Symbio Hydrogen Program, Ending Contract as Company Shrinks to 175 Employees

Symbio — the joint venture backed by Michelin, Forvia, and Stellantis — has announced a major restructuring after Stellantis walked away from its hydrogen program earlier this summer. Since Stellantis accounted for as much as 80% of Symbio’s business, the departure pushed the company into a precarious position.

CEO Jean-Baptiste Lucas said the company can only move forward by undergoing a deep transformation. Symbio plans to reduce its workforce to about 175 employees and shift its focus toward industrial and heavy-duty applications. At the center of its new strategy is a 75-kW fuel-cell system designed for buses and other specialized vehicles.

The company’s SymphonHy production site will remain in operation, though ramp-up will proceed more slowly than originally planned. Symbio now aims to reach an output of up to 10,000 fuel-cell systems between 2028 and 2030. A higher-power 150-kW unit for heavy-duty trucks is also in development and could be ready around 2030.

Industry shifts will likely influence which vehicle categories continue to adopt hydrogen technologies going forward, as Symbio resets its plans in a rapidly changing market.