Hyzon Motors announced today a business combination with blank-cheque company Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation (DCRB), with the goal of being publicly listed on Nasdaq. The merge includes a 400 million dollars investment. Hyzon Motors joins a series of next generation commercial vehicle manufacturers in the stock exchange: recently the same move has been announced by electric bus producer Proterra and Arrival.

Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of DCRB’s stockholders, and is expected to occur in the second calendar quarter of 2021. Hyzon is a mobility company with an exclusive focus on hydrogen in the commercial vehicle market. Mainly focused on the hydrogen truck sector, Hyzon is also active in the fuel cell bus segment: last year the company made a bid to TMB Barcelona tender for 8 fuel cell buses.

hyzon motors nasdaq

Hyzon Motors goes public

Hyzon Motors has been officially launched in mid-March 2020, and follows the experience developed from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. Announced as a company specialized in hydrogen heavy-duty vehicles based in New York State, Hyzon said that series production of its vehicles (trucks and buses) is to begin late this year. On April 4th 2020 Hyzon Motors’ stated on Linkedin that «Hyzon Motors Inc. announces that 1,000 units 40FT/12M fuel cell bus MOU (Memorandum of Understaing) was signed with a client under confidentiality. Target to deliver the first 50 units in about 12 months after formal contract».

The transaction «is anticipated to generate gross proceeds of up to approximately $626 million of cash, assuming minimal redemptions by DCRB’s public stockholders, which will be used to fund operations and growth», Hyzon points out.

Hyzon Motors listed on Nasdaq

The listing of Hyzon Motors on Nasdaq includes «a $400 million fully committed private placement of common stock in DCRB (the “PIPE”), anchored by institutional investors including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Wellington Management and Riverstone Energy Limited. The pro forma implied equity value of the combined company is $2.7 billion at the $10 per share PIPE price, and assuming minimal redemptions by DCRB’s public stockholders».

Hyzon’s leadership will remain intact, with Craig Knight continuing as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company, overseeing its strategic growth initiatives and expansion. Mr. Knight will work alongside Hyzon’s current executive team. The Board of Directors of the combined company will include representation from Hyzon and DCRB.

Hyzon Motors and the fuel cell bus sector

In an interview we had with Hyzon Motors’ CEO Craig Knight in November 2020, he told us that «we are looking also at the opportunity to work with European bus builders in order to take part in hydrogen bus tenders. We don’t make chassis and full vehicles: we are focused on fuel cell powertrains and hydrogen systems, so it’s important for us to put partnerships in place. We want to be more active in Europe. We will move to a larger facility in 2021 that will enable series production. We plan to become a lot more aggressive in 2021 in terms of participation in tenders and we will be working on a vehicle range for the European market with our fuel cell technology».

Fuel cell commercial vehicles in the spotlight

“We are excited to partner with DCRB at an important inflection point for our company, hydrogen and society,” said Craig Knight, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Hyzon. He adds: “Deliveries of Hyzon fuel cell powered heavy trucks to customers in Europe and North America will occur this year, well ahead of our competitors, and our committed sales pipeline is proof that the world is truly recognizing the need to develop innovative solutions to mitigate climate change and accelerate efforts to move the world economy down the path to net-zero emissions.”

George Gu, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hyzon remarked, “This business combination will enable us to expand deployments of our zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell powered heavy vehicles globally, and to continue leading the hydrogen transition. We are incredibly excited about the dynamic mobility category as municipalities and Fortune 100 companies are rapidly embracing hydrogen as the essential pathway to a net-zero economy. The number of countries cementing and then enhancing their national hydrogen strategies expands almost weekly, and we are extremely encouraged by both investor and public interest in the hydrogen economy.”

Robert Tichio, Chairman of the Board of DCRB and a Partner at Riverstone Holdings LLC, said, “We look forward to working with Craig and the entire team at Hyzon to advance the company’s mission of Zero Emissions with Zero Compromise. As a differentiated, pure-play, hydrogen powered mobility company and an emerging leader in the trucking industry, Hyzon is a perfect match for DCRB’s investment criteria and represents a further expansion of Riverstone’s 15-year franchise in low-carbon investments. When forming this investment vehicle our objective was clear: to identify a truly exceptional company that is decarbonizing the global economy, disrupting an established industry with the commercialization of innovative technologies, and is well aligned with ESG principles. We found that company in Hyzon.”

Erik Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of DCRB added, “After evaluating dozens of very promising low- carbon platforms, we are excited to announce our combination with Hyzon. Hyzon is a truly differentiated company that is accelerating and leading the hydrogen transition with captive, proven fuel cell technology and superior performance”.

Highlights

Related articles

46 Solaris electric buses headed to Keolis in Sweden

Solaris has signed a contract with Keolis Sverige, one of Sweden’s largest transport operators, to supply 46 electric buses. The order includes 19 Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses and 27 Solaris Urbino 15 LE electric models, which will operate on routes in the Dalarna region, in central Sweden...