Thanks to new management and fresh financial backing, Günther Schuh is intending to push on with his plans for German-based e.GO Mobile – including the incorporation of fuel cells. At the end of February 2021, nd Industrial Investments B.V. reported the successful conclusion of a Series B financing round which brought in funds of EUR 30 million. The Dutch investment group nd Industrial B.V. had previously taken over e.GO Mobile AG on Sept. 1, 2020, and transferred it to Next.e.GO Mobile SE. The money should ensure that production of the e.GO Life goes ahead in June 2021. Among the investors are the once U.S. finance minister John Snow, Formula E chairman Alejandro Agag and the actor Edward Norton.

Schuh commented: “We are very grateful for the continued enthusiasm, commitment and patience of our customers and fans and are delighted to finally be able to accept orders again.” Günther Schuh gained much attention in 2019 with the e.GO Mover commercial vehicle concept, explaining at the time that it was wrong to concentrate wholly on just battery or fuel cell power systems. The better approach, in his view, is to intelligently combine a comparably small rechargeable battery with a fuel cell as a range extender. He also remarked that car packaging is extremely difficult which is why it makes more sense to use these kinds of power units in buses, for example.

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In 2018, Schuh had originally envisaged that e.GO REX GmbH, a joint venture with Proton Motor, would produce 30,000 units of the e.GO Mover within two years and kit out 5,000 models with fuel cell systems with a 30 kilowatt power output to extend their range. Proton Motor has since ceased to be a partner in the joint venture, according to e.GO, something which has neither been confirmed nor denied by Proton Motor. An e.GO spokeswoman, however, told H2-international: “Working in collaboration with a number of strategic partners, e.GO REX is pushing forward rapidly with the industrialization of fuel cells. The modular fuel cell range extender e.GO REX will be available on the market in 2024.”