With an installed electrolysis capacity of 10 megawatts, this is twice as much as was initially envisaged. On October 18, the Nantes company Lhyfe laid the first stone of its green hydrogen production plant in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. With a start scheduled for early 2026, it aims to decarbonize the Alpine industrial sector (chemistry, metallurgy, microelectronics, heavy and intensive mobility) and mobility linked to tourist activity.
Located in the Grésivaudan valley between Grenoble and Chambéry, the 7,000 square meter factory will be located on a former Ascométal waste storage site closed in 2010 and since rehabilitated. In Cheylas (Isère), the Lhyfe factory plans to produce 4 tonnes per day, the majority of which (up to 600 tonnes per year), will be used to supply the hydrogen stations deployed in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region by the HYmpulsion company, today numbering 6 (7 others are under construction).
These two actors (Hympulsion and the AURA region) were “capital support for our establishmenttells L’Usine Nouvelle the South-East development manager at Lhyfe, Antoine Decout. We have chosen to settle on an already anthropized site, in compliance with the ZAN law (zero net artificialization) which consists of limiting any extension of artificialization by 2050, in the first industrial region of France. We are also close to Switzerland, Annecy and the first tourist ski resorts, with the prospect of the 2030 Olympics».
Alpine hydroelectricity, an asset for producing green hydrogen
The production of green hydrogen by hydrolysis of water will be ensured by a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, from the manufacturer Plug Power. Lhyfe plans to enter into “over-the-counter” contracts with renewable energy suppliers (wind, solar and hydroelectric), whose partners VSB new energies, Kallista Energy and EDP Renewables, have already been the subject of an agreement with Lhyfe. The company says it is very interested in hydroelectricity in the region; the Cheylas site, in Isère, also has one of the largest hydroelectric power stations, with a power of nearly 500 megawatts. “We will be in a semi-centralized production logic, we will use local transporters to transport the hydrogen stored under pressure by truck, within a radius of 100 to 200 kilometers», adds the development manager at Lhyfe.
The project received support from the AURA region with its Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) project and from Europe (5.5 million euros) via the Just Transition Fund. Beyond that, the project benefits from 750,000 euros as part of the Hymagine project, winner of the European Clean Hydrogen Partnership. This financing will serve as leverage to supplement the investment budget of between 20 and 30 million euros.
Every day, 60,000 liters of water to produce 4 tonnes of green hydrogen
Lhyfe wants to be reassuring regarding the site’s water consumption, which consumes more electricity than water according to Antoine Decout. “To produce 4 tonnes of hydrogen, which represents approximately 50,000 kilometers traveled by a truck, we will consume 60 cubic meters of water, the equivalent of manufacturing 6 to 8 pairs of jeans..” Studies are also underway for the possible use of wastewater even “if it is a complex technological challenge with big challenges» specifies the latter, who above all recalls the importance of producing hydrogen for its proper use, always with energy sobriety as a priority.
Other Lhyfe sites are expected to open soon in Europe, such as in Tarragona (Spain) for a capacity of 5 tonnes per day and in Wallsend (UK) for 8 tonnes per day.
Five Lhyfe production sites in France, two in Germany
Le Croisic (Loire-Atlantique)
Creation: 2021
Area: less than 200 m² (offshore)
400 kg/day1 MW
Bouin (Vendée)
Creation: 2021
Surface area: 11,000 m²
300 kg to 1 ton/day
1 MW (currently being upgraded to 2.5 MW)
Bessieres (Occitanie)
Creation: 2024
Surface area: 8,000 m²
2 tons/day5 MW
Buléon (Morbihan)
Creation: 2024
Surface area: 6,700 m²
2 tons/day5 MW
Cheylas (Isère)
Creation: planned for 2026
Surface area: 7,000 m²
4 tons/day10 MW
Baden-Württemberg (Germany)
Creation: 2023
Surface area: 10,000 m²
4 tons/day10 MW
Tübingen (Germany)
Creation: 2024
Area: not specified (hydrogen train power plant)
400 kg/day1 MW
France
