The project aims to build a commercially competitive 44-tonne proof of concept Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) heavy goods tractor unit. With funding from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, project ICEBreaker is set to begin next month (October 2023) with the aim of developing lighter, more efficient hydrogen fuel cell Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) with a lower cost of ownership.

Around GBP600m has been committed by KKR & Co Inc, and a further GBP270m is being invested by one of Zenobē’s existing shareholders, Infracapital.

The IE-Drive 100 hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) utilises the company’s “patented evaporatively cooled (EC) technology”, whilst the hydrogen fuel cell stack delivers 155kW of power. In terms of the architecture, the design is centred around ‘blending’ the desired performance with the space constraints of LCVs. IE stated the HFC is currently being tested with various UK partners.

With production expected to be completed by the end of 2026, the USD 550 million investment is expected to create 380 jobs and support the increased production of CV tyres, all equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that enable more efficient asset management, including retreading.

With USD10m in additional shareholder funds the company will focus on deployment of electric tarmac buses at Bengaluru international airport and development of a mid-mile heavy-duty EV truck platform.

The significance of this investment for InoBat is that this will provide access to Gotion's research and development, its raw materials (lithium etc.) supply chain, cell production and recycling capabilities which will accelerate InoBat’s path to series and large-scale production of battery cells.

The Satellite Technical Centre is to focus on end-to-end software, system engineering, electronics, and mechanical engineering, addressing core market trends in electrification, autonomous driving, and reinvention of interior equipment, notably lighting systems.

The new test centre, jointly operated by FEV Group, in Oued Zem complements two cold weather sites in Finland, north of the Arctic Circle.

The JV aims to manufacture battery cells for commercial electric vehicles at a 21-gigawatt hour (GWh) factory that is anticipated to cost between USD 2-3 billion. The emphasis is on pioneering better battery chemistries that last longer, are safer, lower in cost and are more environmentally sustainable, preferably without the need for nickel and cobalt raw materials.

The company has broken ground on a new (EUR 85 million) 240,000 square foot (22,000 square meters) distribution centre in the city of Massbach, Bayern, Germany to support parts supply to DAF customers in Germany, Switzerland and France.

The test track now comprises a three-mile course, with new road and terrain features to test out the dynamic steering system in Volvo trucks.

The implied enterprise valuation of "QEV NV" is EUR209m, and approximately EUR23m in capital has been committed to the proposed transaction.