Cellcentric appoints Kai Woerner as COO and Managing Director
Cellcentric, the 50:50 fuel-cell joint venture between Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group, has appointed Kai Woerner as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director from January 2026. Woerner brings operational leadership experience from Bosch and battery supplier AESC.
Cellcentric, the fuel-cell joint venture equally owned by Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, has announced a change to its management board, naming Kai Woerner as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Managing Director as of January 2026.
Woerner joins the company with extensive international operational leadership experience. According to cellcentric, he spent many years at Bosch, where he held a series of roles spanning manufacturing and site management: he was responsible for process and machine development for injection systems at Bosch’s Bamberg site in Germany, later led the Charleston, South Carolina facility in the United States, and most recently oversaw the company’s Hildesheim site in Germany. Before moving to cellcentric, he served as COO EU/US at AESC, a supplier of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
In a statement, Woerner said he was “delighted to be able to contribute” to cellcentric and described the company as having “a compelling structure for the successful industrialization and market leadership of fuel cells for heavy-duty applications”. He also pointed to the joint venture’s industrial backing, noting that Daimler Truck and Volvo Group are “known for their focus on strong innovations and long-term visions for sustainable transport.”
Nicholas Loughlan, Managing Director (CTO) and spokesperson of the management board, welcomed the appointment, saying Woerner’s “broad experience in the field of production and production technology will be a fantastic asset,” and noting he will join CFO Niklas Ekstroem and Loughlan on the board.
