Kai Woerner appointed cellcentric Managing Director (COO)

Kirchheim/Teck – cellcentric, the 50:50 fuel cell joint venture of Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, announces a change in its management board. Since January 2026, Kai Wörner has entered the position as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Managing Director

Kai Wörner brings, among other things, many years of operational experience from various international management positions at Bosch. There he was in charge of process and machine development for injection systems at the German Bamberg site, later led the company’s Charleston, South Carolina, US site and last supervised the German Hildesheim site. Most recently, he served as COO EU/US at AESC, a globally leading supplier of high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

“I am delighted to be able to contribute my experience and ideas to cellcentric as Chief Operating Officer. cellcentric has a compelling structure for the successful industrialization and market leadership of fuel cells for heavy-duty applications,” says Kai Wörner. “Both globally active partners of the joint venture - Daimler Truck and Volvo Group - are known for their focus on strong innovations and long-term visions for sustainable transport, underpinned by exceptional financial strength and their depth in R&D and process development.” This makes the corporate environment at cellcentric very promising for the successful industrialization of advanced heavy-duty fuel cell systems.

“Furthermore, cellcentric’s product and philosophy are an excellent fit for the Stuttgart region with its high-quality university environment, renowned suppliers, and vast expertise in mechanical and automotive engineering,” summarizes Kai Wörner. “cellcentric is actively contributing to the decarbonization and sustainability of heavy-duty long-haul freight and other heavy-duty applications. More than 560 employees are playing a key role in shaping the future of fuel cell-electric powertrains – with cellcentric, the European transport industry has the opportunity to set standards in this field. I’m very happy to be part of this team now!”

Nicholas Loughlan, Managing Director (CTO) and Spokesperson of the cellcentric Management Board, says: “We are delighted that Kai joins us at cellcentric! His huge and also broad experience in the field of production and production technology will be a fantastic asset for cellcentric. We are happy to have him with cellcentric and in the management board of our company, joining Niklas Ekstroem as our CFO, and myself.”

About cellcentric

cellcentric develops, produces, and markets fuel cell systems for use in heavy-duty commercial vehicles as the focus as well as offroad applications. cellcentric is a joint venture founded in 2021 between Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group. The company utilizes the know-how and extensive experience gained from decades of developing fuel cell systems by its predecessor companies. cellcentric’s goal is to become a leading global manufacturer of fuel cells and thus making a contribution to climate-neutral and sustainable transportation by 2050. More than 560 highly qualified employees are driving our state-of-the-art fuel cell technology forward. They work in interdisciplinary teams at our sites in Kirchheim/Teck, Stuttgart, Esslingen (Germany) and Burnaby (Canada). Roughly 700 individual intellectual property rights were filed, underline the company’s leading role in technological development.