Kai Woerner Appointed cellcentric Managing Director (COO)
Kai Woerner has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of cellcentric, the fuel cell joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, effective January 2026.
- 560+
- 50:50 Daimler Truck and Volvo Group
What Happened
Kai Woerner has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Managing Director of cellcentric, the 50:50 fuel cell joint venture of Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, effective January 2026. He brings extensive operational experience from international management roles at Bosch, where he led process and machine development in Bamberg, Germany, and later managed sites in Charleston, South Carolina, and Hildesheim, Germany. Most recently, he served as COO EU/US at AESC, a global supplier of high-performance batteries for electric vehicles.
“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. Both globally active partners of the joint venture - Daimler Truck and Volvo Group - are known for their focus on strong innovations and long-term visio”
“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.”
Previously from cellcentric
cellcentric is a 50:50 fuel cell joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group. In March 2026, Toyota Motor Corporation signed a non-binding MoU to become an equal third shareholder in the joint venture, signaling potential ownership changes.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of cellcentric's official releases.
Why this matters
This appointment brings extensive operational experience to cellcentric as it scales fuel cell production for heavy-duty trucks. The new COO's background at Bosch, PowerCo, and AESC positions the joint venture to achieve market leadership. With over 560 employees, cellcentric is a key player in decarbonizing long-haul freight.
Terms in This Story
- COO
- Chief Operating Officer, responsible for day-to-day operations of a company.
- fuel cell
- A device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, emitting only water vapor.
- joint venture
- A business arrangement where two or more parties pool resources for a specific project or company.
- decarbonization
- The process of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, often by switching to cleaner energy sources.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.