EKPO FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

Their core work

EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies is a German fuel cell stack manufacturer focused on PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technology for mobility and heavy-duty transport applications. They bring industrial-scale manufacturing expertise to EU research consortia, contributing material development, stack design, and MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) production capabilities. Their work spans the full fuel cell lifecycle — from high-power-density stack development for aviation to end-of-life recycling of critical raw materials used in hydrogen technologies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EKPO's H2020 participation began in 2019 with the HEAVEN project, focused on high-performance fuel cell systems for hydrogen-powered aviation — a forward-looking application requiring cryogenic hydrogen expertise. By 2021, their focus shifted in two directions simultaneously: upstream toward materials science, degradation analysis, and manufacturing process optimization (MORELife), and downstream toward end-of-life recycling and critical raw materials recovery (BEST4Hy). This progression signals a company maturing from pure product development toward full lifecycle responsibility.

EKPO is moving toward full fuel cell lifecycle expertise — from manufacturing optimization to end-of-life materials recovery — positioning themselves as a partner for projects addressing fuel cell sustainability and industrial scale-up.

How they like to work

EKPO participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for an industrial company contributing manufacturing expertise and hardware to research-driven consortia. With 20 unique partners across 8 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in medium-to-large European consortia and are clearly comfortable in multinational, multi-disciplinary teams. Their role pattern suggests they are sought after as the industrial validation and manufacturing partner that grounds research in real-world product requirements.

Despite only three projects, EKPO has built a network of 20 partners across 8 European countries, indicating they join well-connected consortia with broad geographic reach. Their partnerships likely span universities, research institutes, and other industrial players in the hydrogen and fuel cell value chain.

What sets them apart

EKPO stands out as a dedicated fuel cell stack manufacturer with industrial-scale MEA production capability — a rare profile among H2020 participants, where most fuel cell work is done by universities or research institutes. Their project portfolio covers an unusually complete arc from high-performance stack design through degradation science to end-of-life recycling, giving them a systems-level understanding that pure researchers lack. For consortium builders, EKPO offers the credibility of a company that actually manufactures the technology being researched.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MORELife
  Largest funding (EUR 568,500) and most strategically important — addresses the critical barrier of fuel cell lifetime in heavy-duty transport, a key commercialization challenge.
• HEAVEN
  Pioneering work on liquid hydrogen fuel cell systems for passenger aircraft — an ambitious application area that few industrial partners were tackling in 2019.
• BEST4Hy
  Addresses the circular economy angle of hydrogen technologies, focusing on recovering critical raw materials from spent fuel cells — increasingly important as fuel cell deployment scales up.