Zepp.solutions successfully secured a €1.98-MM grant from the European Just Transition Fund (JTF) for the development of a cutting-edge fuel cell systems factory. The JTF, which contributes to the transition to a Climate Neutral Europe, recognizes zepp's potential in supporting the regional economy's innovation and reducing the negative impact on employment during this transition.

The factory, to be established in the Greater-Rijnmond region, will allow zepp.solutions to strengthen its leading position in Europe’s growing H₂ sector. With the support of the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) and Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), as well as the municipalities in the Dutch Greater Rijnmond area, zepp.solutions aims to accelerate the energy transition and foster resilience in the labor market.

“We are thrilled and proud to receive this significant grant from the Just Transition Fund. This is an important step towards establishing a new state-of-the-art production facility for our fuel cell systems. It will allow us to further accelerate our technology and scale up the production and deployment of these H₂ systems in the next few years,” said Jonas Brendelberger, co-founder of zepp.solutions.

The factory will be dedicated to the production of zepp’s Y50 and X150 fully integrated H₂ fuel cell modules. These fuel cell modules extremely efficiently transform H₂ gas into usable high-voltage electric power to drive vehicles, vessels or other heavy machinery. Current applications include the Rotterdam Watertaxi, excavators for construction as well as a 67-meter-long inland shipping vessel. The first two semi-trucks featuring zepp’s fuel cell systems will hit the roads later this year.

“The zepp team is excited to increase our contribution to a climate-neutral Europe. Each of our systems ultimately replaces a polluting diesel engine resulting in a reduction of between 111 metric tpyand 332 metric tpy of CO₂ per system. Our fuel cell technology boasts an impressive power density, surpassing that of our closest competitor by a significant share. This heightened power density enables the integration of H₂ technology into a wider range of heavy-duty applications. We are maximizing the potential impact of the technology,” said Brendelberger.

The factory will enable zepp.solutions to scale up their production to 1,000 systems annually, leading to the creation of approximately 100 sustainable jobs in the H₂ sector within the region. By focusing on the production of their zero-emission fuel cell systems, zepp.solutions also significantly contributes to the region’s ambition to become the leading European H₂ hub.