The Saint-Fons factory, specialized in fuel cells, must start production in 2023, particularly for Stellantis. Symbio, a joint venture between Michelin and Forvia, has announced an investment of one billion euros over the next seven years in France for its hydrogen project HyMotive.
“Using its HyMotive initiative, backed by France Relance / France 2030, as part of the PIIEC’s Hy2Tech wave, Symbio, a joint venture between Michelin and Forvia, would invest a total of 1 billion euros over 7 years in France, according to its founders.
Fuel cells made of hydrogen in large quantities
The Hymotive project’s gigafactory, which is now under development near Saint-Fons in the Lyon metropolitan, will hasten the industrialization and mass manufacture of its fuel cell devices during its first phase. With a capacity of 50,000 units annually, this facility is anticipated to be among the largest production facilities for fuel cell systems in Europe. With a number of clients, including Stellantis, who has formally stated its objective of 10,000 hydrogen cars by 2024, production is expected to begin in the second part of 2023.
France’s second fuel cell facility
In a subsequent phase, Hymotive will develop ground-breaking technologies that will enhance Symbio’s StackPack’s performance while bringing down per-unit costs. The construction of a second gigafactory in France will enable Symbio to reach a total annual manufacturing capacity of 100,000 StackPacks by 2028.
The formal launch of Symbio and Schaeffler’s joint venture, Innoplate
“We appreciate the support given to our HyMotive initiative by our shareholders, the European Commission, and the French government. Support that energizes us and drives us toward our 2030 goals of becoming a major global player with a 1.5 billion euro revenue and 200,000 stack packs produced each year “Philippe Rosier, Chairman, and CEO of Symbio, emphasizes that the joint venture with Schaeffler for the mass production of bipolar plates, a crucial part of fuel cells (BPP), has been in operation since October 1 of 2022. Innoplate. Haguenau production should begin in 2024.
