SYMBIO, a major player in the field of fuel cells for zero emission hydrogen mobility, presented this Wednesday 13 July in Vénissieux, a series of announcements demonstrating its rapid scaling up and the acceleration of its transformation process.
- SYMBIO announces notification by the French government of its global IPCEI (Important Project of European Interest) project Hymotive and the progress of its Gigafactory SymphonHy;
- SymphonHy will support Stellantis in its ambition to consolidate its position as “frontrunner” position in hydrogen mobility, with the objective of producing up to 10,000 vehicles by 2024, in line with its strategic plan Dare Forward 2030;
- SYMBIO’s own ecosystem is reinforced by the signature of an LOI (Letter of Intent) with CNR and ENGIE, for the supply of green hydrogen.
SYMBIO ANNOUNCES THAT ITS IPCEI PROJECT HYMOTIVE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED BY THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AND CONFIRMS PROGRESS OF ITS GIGAFACTORY SYMPHONHY, AN INDUSTRIAL AND INNOVATION EXCELLENCE PROJECT, WITH START OF PRODUCTION IN THE SECOND SEMESTER OF 2023
SYMBIO is proud to announce today that its global project Hymotive, presented under the Hydrogen Technologies and Systems IPCEI, has been notified by the French government to the European Commission, and is awaiting definitive approval during the coming days. A large-scale transformative project, Hymotive will multiply SYMBIO’s industrial and cutting-edge innovation capacity:
- Accelerating the industrialization and massproduction of its last-generation fuel cell systems in Saint-Fons;
- Developing and industrializing a new generation of innovative fuel cells, containing disruptive technology which will significantly increase the performance of SYMBIO StackPacks while drastically reducing unit production costs.
SYMBIO also confirms progress on the building of its first Gigafactory, named SymphonHy, which is part of the global Hymotive project. Placed in the heart of the Vallée de la Chimie in Saint-Fons, close to Lyon, SymphonHy will be one of the largest fuel cell system production sites in Europe, thus meeting growing client demands with an eventual total production capacity of 50.000 systems per year. This flagship project will also house the group’s headquarters, R&D center, SYMBIO Hydrogen Academy, and a start-up incubator centered around decarbonized hydrogen. The site is destined to become a recognizable center for both the French and international hydrogen ecosystem, focused on the promotion and acceleration of clean mobility. A center of environmental excellence, SymphonHy will be BREEAM** certified “Very Good” from the start thanks to the high energy efficiency levels of its buildings and processes, its energy self-sufficiency, and the use of renewable energies and green hydrogen.
**BREEAM: "Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method", international standard to assess buildings’ environmental impact.
engagement in building a solid European ecosystem for fuel cell technologies and hydrogen mobility. Hymotive will allow the build up of the largest production of fuel cells in France, with a total capacity of 100.000 StackPacks® per year by 2028, while also contributing to the mass competitive deployment of hydrogen mobility in Europe.
SYMPHONHY WILL SUPPORT STELLANTIS IN ITS AMBITION TO CONSOLIDATE ITS POSITION AS “FRONT-RUNNER” IN HYDROGEN MOBILITY, WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF PRODUCING UP TO 10.000 VEHICLES BY 2024, IN LINE WITH ITS STRATEGIC PLAN DARE FORWARD 2030
Over the past three years, Stellantis and SYMBIO have worked together to enable the launch of the automotive group’s hydrogen mobility strategy, geared towards light commercial vehicles (LCV), with the goal of addressing the significant environmental demands of its customers.
In a world premier, Stellantis, one of the main international vehicle manufacturers, launched in 2021 an innovative solution with a mid-power fuel cell, perfectly adapted to intensive usage, ensuring long autonomy and fast refueling, with zero emissions. SYMBIO supplies the 45 KW fuel cell system to this automotive manufacturer, which is compact and answers to the strictest quality and durability standards of the automotive world.
Thus, SYMBIO confirms today the strength of its strategic partnership with Stellantis, which attests to the robustness of the fuel cell solution, tailor made for Stellantis.
This fruitful partnership will bring hundreds of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles (NDLR 300) to European roads by the end of the year.
With its new Gigafactory, SYMBIO will be able to respond to Stellantis’ growing needs and to supports its expansion toward clean hydrogen mobility designed for light commercial vehicles, with an annual production goal of up to 10.000 vehicles by 2024.
In addition, SYMBIO supports other pioneering actors in the clean hydrogen mobility sphere, like SAFRA, with a strategic partnership for the deployment of hydrogen buses. The Businova buses from SAFRA are already operational and present in multiple French cities, with the new generation of buses Hycity to be launched very soon. There is no question about the need to develop hydrogen technologies and SYMBIO is well-positioned not only for on-road, but also for offroad mobility.
A Faurecia and Michelin joint Venture, SYMBIO enjoys more than 30 years of accumulated experience in the development of fuel cell systems. The daring startup proposes a complete series of compact, pre-validated, and pre-integrated StackPacks®, which can address all power and durability demands of zero emission mobility.
FINALLY, SYMBIO REINFORCES ITS OWN ECOSYSTEM AND SECURES THE SUPPLY OF GREEN HYDROGEN IN SAINTFONS THANKS TO THE SIGNING OF AN AGREEMENT WITH CNR AND ENGIE
SYMBIO has also announced the signature of an LOI (letter of Intent) with the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) and ENGIE. The agreement aims at securing the need for green hydrogen at the future Saint-Fons Gigafactory. The hydrogen will come exclusively from renewable sources thanks to its production by electrolyzer, fed by CNR’s Pierre-Bénite hydroelectric plant. This key supply will guarantee already from 2025 a hydrogen consumption reaching 3 to 4 daily tons in the years to come.
In this way, the three groups demonstrate their capacity to go all the way with their ambitions, in line with the objective of achieving zero-emission mobility. This green hydrogen will additionally have a very high level of overall purity, thus securing optimal quality for the developed products.
Following the recent announcement of the creation of Innoplate, a JV between SYMBIO and Schaeffler for the mass production of bipolar plates—a strategic component of fuel cells—it brings yet a new development to the progressive structuring of the European value chain centered on hydrogen mobility.