2023-12-05 12:33:03
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, Updated 4 minutes ago
The French state is betting a lot on hydrogen and is supporting this plant to the tune of 600 million euros. stock.adobe.com
The objective of this factory is to produce 15,000 hydrogen systems in 2024, then increase to 50,000 per year by 2026.
Michelin, Forvia and Stellantis inaugurated their “giga-factory» of fuel cells south of Lyon, which will run utility vehicles and buses on hydrogen. Their joint venture Symbio’s factory aims to produce 15,000 hydrogen systems in 2024, then ramp up to 50,000 per year by 2026, while sales of hydrogen vehicles have yet to take off. With 700 employees, in the industrial zone of Saint-Fons (Rhône), this factory called “SymphonHy» is the largest fuel cell factory in Europe, and already has around twenty customers.
The French state is betting a lot on hydrogen and is supporting this plant to the tune of 600 million euros, as part of a European subsidy plan for this still uncompetitive technology. “The energy and ecological transition is coming now», welcomed Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Energy Transition, during the inauguration. “It’s good for jobs, it’s good for the planet, and for our sovereignty: these solutions will replace fuel that we import from the rest of the world.».
Stellantis, the leader in utility vehicles in Europe, delivered the first vehicles equipped with hydrogen systems at the end of 2021, assembled in Germany. An Opel van, for example, carries 4.4 kilos of hydrogen for 400 kilometers of autonomy. Its price currently still exceeds 100,000 euros for purchase, with a rental offer of 400 euros per month. The manufacturer intends to lower this price with its new range of hydrogen-powered Peugeot, Opel or Citroën utility vehicles, which must be assembled in Hordain (North).
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“Support for purchasing”
According to the boss of Forvia, Patrick Koller, the hydrogen system will be less expensive than the electric battery by 2030. This launch phase will have to be supported by European states to succeed, warned the general director of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares: “for the next five years we are going to need purchasing support» of at least 30,000 euros per vehicle, he stressed. All that remains is to deploy recharging stations, and find hydrogen produced from carbon-free energies: by 2030, the French state must invest 7.2 billion euros to reach 600 kilotons of production per year.
Symbio also plans to open a factory in Alsace in early 2024 to manufacture bipolar plates, an essential element of fuel cells, and is considering a second gigafactory in France in 2028. The company is also considering building a gigafactory in California, to supply the American utility and heavy-duty market, supported by a very low hydrogen price. Stellantis brands like Ram intend to take advantage of this to switch their pickups to hydrogen from 2026-2027.
A hydrogen fuel cell is made up of plates and membranes in which an electrochemical reaction takes place, producing electricity, as well as heat and water. It powers the electric motor of utility vehicles or buses, with autonomy and a recharge time close to thermal vehicles. It therefore makes it possible to carry much smaller batteries than an electric vehicle, protecting its payload.
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