INOCEL, a major player in decarbonization with its revolutionary fuel cell, has announced the installation of its high-volume production plant in Belfort, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The objective is to produce the most powerful, compact, and efficient low-temperature fuel cell on the global market (300 kW) from 2024 and to reach the production of tens of thousands of units per year by 2030. In three years, the INOCEL Z300 fuel cell will be ready for production. Belfort was chosen as the location for its gigafactory, a territory known for being a precursor in the hydrogen sector and with a strong industrial ecosystem.

INOCEL provides an unprecedented response to decarbonization issues for stationary electricity production, heavy land mobility, or maritime transport. Its efficient, durable, compact, reactive, and modular system already stands out in the global hydrogen solutions market. The INOCEL fuel cell overcomes technological barriers by enabling the use of hydrogen systems for industrial use cases for which there is currently no efficient solution. With a 300 kW product available from 2024, INOCEL positions itself as the only actor in the very high-power fuel cell and prepares for future generations of a 500 kW power product range.

To meet the strong market demand, INOCEL announces the installation of its 4.0 production plant in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, in Belfort, in the Techn’hom business park. As a complementary product to existing solutions, the INOCEL fuel cell will help establish French and European sovereignty in hydrogen with its very high-power fuel cell solution. The company aims to produce its fuel cells at a volume, quality, and price level expected by the market. The production site of over 15,000 m² must indeed support the production of tens of thousands of units per year and provide turnkey solutions to industrialists from 2024. The annual production target by 2030 is 30,000 fuel cell systems per year.

INOCEL will recruit more than 150 people by the end of 2024, 700 people by 2030, and has made the strategic choice to develop in a region recognized for its key skills and complementary industrial ecosystem. This site will complement the Grenoble R&D center of 60 employees, a technological hub close to world-class research entities such as the CEA, whose technology used by INOCEL is derived from.

By choosing Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, INOCEL benefits from strong support from a territory that is a precursor in France in the field of hydrogen. The establishment of its plant will boost the employment basin as well as an industrial sector that supports a cutting-edge hydrogen industry. Finally, and in a logic of global decarbonization, the INOCEL plant is designed to have the lowest possible environmental impact.

• The company structures its governance with the appointment of an Advisory Board and a General Direction.

• INOCEL successfully completes its first capital increase of 10 million euros.

• The company validates its first recruitment and structuring objectives in line with its ambitious development plan.

Grenoble, September 27^th, 2022 – INOCEL, a new player in the field of hydrogen technology co-founded by Mike HORN and Mauro RICCI, is accelerating the energy transition by democratizing high-power hydrogen fuel cells. Four months after its official launch, the company is structuring its governance and its funding to complete the first stage of its development. The company appointed an experienced Advisory Board, a dynamic and competent General Direction, and carried out a first capital increase of 10 million euros. INOCEL’s growth is in line with its strategic development plan and ambitious objectives. The team now counts 20 employees and will reach 35 by the end of the year. The company will soon move to new premises in the Grenoble area to further develop its activity.

The Company will accelerate its development, optimize its existing technology, industrialize a large-scale product line by 2024 and present a first demonstrator between the end of the year and next spring. INOCEL’s demonstrators will be used to validate the performance of its hydrogen propulsion system in real-life conditions in the various target segments.

An experienced, multidisciplinary Board presided by Mauro RICCI, Co-Founder and Investor:

The General Direction is in charge of the structuring and the operational development of INOCEL in liaison with the Advisory Board on the strategic directions of the company.

INOCEL is financially, operationally, and strategically structured to achieve its ambitious goals and accelerate the energy transition. The entire INOCEL team is now ready and eager to bring to the market its high-performance hydrogen hydrogen propulsion system, in the interest of a decarbonized world.

The INOCEL team in detail:

• Mauro RICCI, successful entrepreneur, notably Founder and CEO of the international group AKKA Technologies for 38 years, brings to the company his vision, his skills in business development and structuring as well as his extensive knowledge of the worlds of industry and engineering.
• Mike HORN, a Professional Explorer for more than 25 years, brings his competitive DNA and shares his vision of the energy revolution for the environment. A compelling speaker with abundant energy, Mike HORN also carries the messages and mission of INOCEL.
• Frank LINDENBERG, with 30 years of experience at Mercedes-Benz AG, most notably as Chief Financial Officer, shares his extensive knowledge of financial ecosystems, his skills in corporate structuring, and his expert view of the ground transportation industry and its evolution.
• Luc MARBACH, President of the Société des Ingénieurs de l’Automobile (SIA) with 37 years of experience in industrialization, project lead and innovation as well as an in-depth knowledge of the industrial world and its issues, supports INOCEL in its product strategy and industrialization phase.
• Frédéric BARRAND, who held management positions for more than 26 years within the PSA Peugeot Citroën, Giat Industries and Siemens Transportation Systems groups, has been running a strategy and management consulting firm for the past 10 years. An engineer by training, Frédéric BARRAND has extensive expertise in systems engineering and product development.
• Jean-Philippe LALIGAND, experienced company director as well as financial and legal director who worked in the information technology and services sector, supports the company in its legal and financial aspects.
• Jules BILLIET, a graduate of ESSEC Business School with an international background, which includes Cornell University, is recognized for his multicultural course and his experience in strategic development and finance. In particular, he has held the positions of Chief of Staff and Director of Operational Marketing for the AKKA Group, contributing significantly to the Group’s strategy and its operational implementation, with major accomplishments.

Grenoble, May 5, 2022 – The advanced technological maturity of fuel cell stacks* is driving the fuel cell industry toward full-scale development today. On the occasion of the HyVolution exhibition, which will take place from May 11 to 12, 2022, in Paris, INOCEL, a new entrant in the world of hydrogen, will introduce the company and its efficient, durable, and high-performance fuel cell technology. INOCEL draws upon the extensive experience of CEA in this field, infused with the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup.

INOCEL is the result of ambition and the convergence of research, industry, engineering, and exploration. Its DNA is designed to accelerate the industrialization of efficient and competitive hydrogen systems in the global market, thereby contributing to the transition of energy ecosystems.

INOCEL will offer turnkey solutions for hydrogen energy chains in the short term, including innovative low-temperature fuel cells. In the medium term, INOCEL will have the capacity to meet the growing demand for mass production of fuel cells.

These solutions target heavy mobility applications on land and sea with sustainability and efficiency needs, high-performance sports vehicles, and energy production.

Based in Grenoble, INOCEL is a simplified joint-stock company that will employ around a hundred people by 2023. Mauro Ricci, founder of the AKKA Technologies Group, will guide INOCEL in its development and industrialization.

*The stack is the central and major component of a fuel cell, concentrating intellectual property.