Symbio, a European fuel cell provider, has announced that Bureau Veritas has awarded the group a Letter of Conformity to IATF 16949 certification for the design and manufacturing perimeters. This certification testifies to the technological and industrial maturity of Symbio and SymphonHy, Europe's largest site dedicated to the development and production of H₂ fuel cells and systems. Symbio is the first player in fuel cell technology in Europe, and the second worldwide, to obtain this certification.

The IATF 16949 standard is an international reference in quality management, specifically designed for the automotive industry. Based on the principles of ISO 9001, it aims to ensure that products and services comply with automakers' quality standards, thus certifying their quality and reliability throughout the automotive supply chain. It is a key criterion for selecting suppliers of components, sub-assemblies and services to automakers.

As chance would have it, Symbio received its Letter of Conformity in December 2024, one year to the day after the inauguration of SymphonHy, rewarding Symbio teams’ outstanding work and the site's intensive production ramp-up in just 365 days.

“Obtaining the Letter of Conformity for IATF 16949 certification is a major strategic milestone for a Tier 1 equipment manufacturer. The certification of the Symbio Group and its first gigafactory, SymphonHy, is recognition of Symbio's organizational maturity, industrial rigor and innovative power, capable of meeting the automotive industry's most stringent requirements by placing continuous improvement and operational excellence at the heart of its priorities,” said Philippe Rosier, Symbio CEO.