the essential
For 20 years, the Septuors ceremony has crowned innovative, deserving and socially committed companies in Occitania. Available in the territories, it returned this year to the BIKINI scene for a new edition in Haute-Garonne, on Wednesday June 5. It rewarded 8 local companies selected by a jury of influential players in Haute-Garonne.
This year, the trophy presentation took place during a show by illusionist Rémi Larrousse.
Jean-Nicolas Baylet, Managing Director of the Dépêche du Midi Group, opened this ceremony in the presence of an audience of institutions and business leaders from Haut-Garon.
The Winner: HYCCO
Hycco: The Energy of Tomorrow Powered by Innovative Components
Founded in 2019 by Romain Di Costanzo, Hycco specializes in the production of bipolar carbon fiber plates for fuel cells, aiming to revolutionize heavy mobility with hydrogen.
In 2017, Romain Di Costanzo, a former engineer in the space sector, decided to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure in France after a retraining opportunity initiated from Canada. Identifying hydrogen as the energy vector of the future, it focuses on fuel cells, in particular on bipolar plates, essential components of the system. “I became interested in the different components of the fuel cell system. And I had the idea of manufacturing one of the two components: the bipolar plates with a somewhat particular process because it is made from carbon fibers,” explains Romain. To make this idea a reality, he approached major players in the field, including the Laplace laboratory, and found crucial support at the Albi School of Mines, where he was incubated for four years, from 2017 to 2021. In 2018, Romain finds his first partner, Alain Fontaine, who becomes R&D technical manager. A year later, Ludovic Barbès, former production manager in a paper processing factory, joined the team as CFO, thus managing the financial, industrial and management part of the company.
From incubation to mass production
Together, the three partners founded Hycco in 2019, with a clearly defined business model: to mass produce bipolar plates for fuel cells intended for heavy mobility, including trains, trucks, planes and boats. An initial fundraising of 1.7 million euros was achieved thanks to WiSEED, and Hycco became an ADEME winner with the Innov’ project. The company then set up a team of 20 people at the Montaudran nursery in Toulouse and deployed a first prototype production line, capable of producing up to 10,000 pieces per year. This line has been fully functional since the end of 2023. Hycco is not stopping there. Today, it is the winner of the BPI’s “First Factory” scheme, aimed at deploying production units in the region for the energy of tomorrow. The company also collaborates with HYNOLOGY, a manufacturer of proton exchange membranes, the other crucial component of fuel cells. Together, they won funding from ADEME, guaranteeing their R&D program for the creation of a high-power demonstrator. “The next project is to deploy a pilot production line, with a capacity of more than 300,000 pieces per year. In total, it is an 8 million euro project, and we have already achieved 50% through fundraising and aid won,” explains Romain Di Costanzo.
Anticipate tomorrow’s needs
Hycco’s vision for hydrogen is clear and ambitious. “We are often challenged on the reality of hydrogen. For us, there is no doubt. All the countries that are positioning themselves today on hydrogen are becoming routes to the supply of hydrogen, as was the case with oil a century ago. » Romain sees the enormous global industrial power mobilizing to secure the production, transport and distribution of hydrogen on all continents, calling hydrogen the “new black gold”. Hycco’s objective is to anticipate the needs for components to capture market share when the uses of hydrogen are fully deployed, thus confirming their place in this energy revolution.
