Last November, Thomas Melczer and Achim Loecher were appointed CEOs at newly founded FCP – Fuel Cell Powertrain, a joint venture between Melczer’s PTT Power Train Technology based in the German state of Saxony and Dewei Group Holdings from Beijing. They share the role with Professor Thomas von Unwerth, director of the Advanced Powertrains department at Chemnitz University of Technology, which works in close partnership with FCP. The fourth and last CEO is Wolfgang Heil, also CEO of TTS Technology Transfer & Supply and formerly employed in the same position at GSR Ventiltechnik.

FCP’s objective is to develop and manufacture state-of-the-art battery and fuel cell hybrid systems as well as powertrains. The company plans to invest “EUR 120 million in establishing a visionary infrastructure and installing and creating the first systems and products over the next 36 months.”

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So far, FCP has a staff of 16, a number that is said to be growing to 100 eventually. Besides the department on system development, the university will reportedly receive a testing environment and a low-volume production facility. Financial support will come from the federal state’s economic development agency among others. The new company considers its main sales market to be China, where it will set up a subsidiary for local manufacture. Melczer and Loecher used to sit on the board of Proton Motor, a fuel cell manufacturer they both left 2 years ago in July.