France-based green hydrogen firm, Lhyfe, sees the United Kingdom as a promising market for their operations and recent expansion efforts. The founder, Matthieu Guesné, indicated a strong commitment to the UK hydrogen market after designating the North East region as their headquarters.
Lhyfe’s view about the UK market stems from the country’s advanced position regarding subsidies compared to some European nations. The company chose Newcastle as its UK base after it raised €110m in an initial public offering (IPO) on Euronext Paris in 2022.
The company also has an operations center in Sheffield to leverage the region’s research and supply chain capabilities. They are currently scouting North East sites to host a future green hydrogen production plant.
The company has recognized a distinct approach in the UK’s energy transition policies. The focus on replacing natural gas with hydrogen instead of simply swapping grey hydrogen with green hydrogen is perceived positively by Lhyfe.
They find the growing ambition within companies like Northern Gas Networks towards green hydrogen encouraging. Similarly, natural gas companies, like Centrica, showing interest in developing hydrogen is another favorable sign for hydrogen companies.
Guesné further stated his belief that UK regulations align sufficiently with other European countries to facilitate hydrogen trading. He also expressed his optimism towards the 20GW of licensed offshore wind projects in Scotland presenting to hydrogen what Brent oil did in the 1970s.
With its ongoing onshore production in Europe, Lhyfe aims at establishing offshore production near wind farms in the future. With this objective, they have developed the world’s first offshore electrolysis demonstrator, ‘Sealhyfe’, leading to a €33m subsidy from the Belgian Government for a 10MW project in the North Sea.
Currently, the company has a 10GW pipeline across 75 projects and a prospective 1GW deal with a yet-to-be-named partner. They are also planning eight new projects in France and Germany, aside from the three operational sites.
In terms of market strategy, Lhyfe aims to capture a 5% market share and hopes for more players like itself in the sector. The business anticipates reaching revenues of €100m by 2026, a substantial rise from the €1.3m revenue of last year.
