The plant should allow France to move towards its objective of sovereignty in terms of installed electrolysis capacity (6.5 gigawatts planned in 2030, and 10 GW in 2035).
The McPhy company inaugurated the first French factory producing electrolysers in France on Thursday in Belfort, an industrial challenge to initiate the decarbonization of industry and heavy transport, provided that the price of electricity allows the profitability of hydrogen. low carbon. McPhy electrolysers, based on so-called “alkaline” technology, must be used to industrially produce hydrogen in a clean way, from wind, solar or even nuclear electricity, and to do without the methane gas used until now, explained the general director, Jean-Baptiste Lucas.
Without a State representative due to the electoral period, the inauguration of the factory, which received a first tranche of public aid of 28 million euros out of some 114 million promised by the European Union, should allow it is up to France to move towards its objective of sovereignty in terms of installed electrolysis capacity (6.5 gigawatts planned in 2030, and 10 GW in 2035), adds Jean-Baptiste Lucas.
Produce 260 units per year
Belfort which hosts it, a city with a long industrial history, has developed a very advanced hydrogen ecosystem “thanks to research on the subject for almost 40 years”, noted the president of the Burgundy Franche-Comté region, Marie- Guite Dufay, who provided strong support for the implementation. The factory, very bright and immersed in a rural environment, is still empty.
An electrolyser is built in two main parts: on the one hand the metal structures, called EPU (electrolyser process unit), a sort of chassis 10 meters long and weighing 60 tonnes; and on the other hand the heart of the machine, the “stacks”, a sort of large radiator where water molecules (H20) are broken by an electric current, to separate hydrogen and oxygen. Manufacturing of the structures will begin in July, and that of the stacks in 2025. The objective is to produce 260 units per year, indicates Benoît Duriez, head of industrialization.
Initial bet on gray hydrogen
Around fifteen years ago, McPhy, a former start-up which employs 260 people in France, Italy and Germany, was born from research by the CNRS and the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The factory itself currently only employs 25 people and plans to ramp up production quickly. The company has suffered numerous technical setbacks since its launch more than 15 years ago and has been fully supported by the public authorities, but today claims to have more than 55 MW of projects signed around the world.
As outlets, it is firstly betting on the replacement of industrial hydrogen consumed around the world. Or 100 million tonnes per year. Nicknamed “gray” hydrogen, it is produced in a very polluting way, releasing a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere, because it comes from the steam reforming of methane gas. This gray hydrogen is used in particular by petrochemicals to desulfurize its fuels. But it is also betting on new uses of hydrogen to decarbonize the production of fertilizers or steel, or to manufacture future “electrofuels” for aviation.
McPhy is mainly targeting abroad for the moment
All that remains is to encourage customers to place orders. In France, they don’t rush. The reason lies in the cost of the raw material, electricity, the price of which is the subject of tight negotiations between EDF and manufacturers. Having EDF present in its capital, at around 14%, could help McPhy, notes Philippe Boucly, president of France Hydrogène which brings together players in the sector.
In the meantime, McPhy is mainly targeting abroad. Its launch client is the German energy distribution group HMS Oil and Gas for a 64 MW project, with commissioning planned for the end of 2025, subject to the final investment decision. “We favored this technology because it is easy to scale,” its CEO Dennis Schwindt told AFP, according to whom “if we want to do without Russian gas, hydrogen is the solution.” The Indian group Larsen & Toubro, present at the inauguration, signed a license agreement to manufacture McPhy electrolysers in India. The Moroccan group OCP was also present.
