Rheinmetall expands hydrogen fuel cell activities
Boxer 8x8 vehicle. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
German firm Rheinmetall wants to position itself as a leader in hydrogen fuel cell technology for defence and other applications.
Rheinmetall is joining a national hydrogen fuel cell initiative in Germany as a partner in a new Innovation and Technology Centre, with financial support from the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The company has been developing and producing products for fuel cell systems for more than 20 years. In recent months alone, the company received orders in this field totalling about €50 million ($59 million).
From now on, Rheinmetall stated that it will draw on its experience and expertise in this domain to position itself even more firmly as a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. This could translate into Rheinmetall upgrading some of its military vehicles, like the Boxer, with hydrogen fuel cell technologies.
Hydrogen, a key element against climate change, presents substantial global growth opportunities among all its stages (production, storage, distribution and use). The current market volume of €5 billion is predicted to exceed €100 billion by 2030.
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