“There is a tractor noise behind…”, believes Mélanie Thomin. This Friday, November 22, 2024, the member of the 6e constituency of Finistère was able, via a video, hear the first roars of the hydrogen combustion engine from Efficient Hydrogen Motors (EHM) during his visit to the start-up, based in Châteaulin (Finistère) and founded in 2022. “It’s all hot. The engine has been running since this week, confides Didier Arenal, CEO of EHM. This is a new step forward in the manufacturing of our hydrogen combustion engine. »
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This 265 kW engine emits no CO particles2 . It is designed on “five-stroke, unlike conventional thermal engines which are four-stroke. Hydrogen has a higher combustion temperature, the fifth stroke helps cool the engine, explains Didier Arenal. We are in the finalization phase of the design of our engine. »
First deliveries on 4e quarter 2025
In the EHM workshop, which has around twenty employees and another twenty collaborators, engineers continue to work around their hydrogen combustion engine, adapted to generators and heavy mobility (buses, trucks , construction machinery). “There is still work to be done, said the leader. We are multiplying the tests. Some 3,000 parameters are monitored every millisecond. »
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To reach this stage, the start-up raised 5 million euros. “We need 20 million euros to complete the research and development part, indicates Didier Arenal. We look for them on the market. We have touches with Swiss and American funds. If all goes well, we should be able to deliver the first engines within 4e quarter 2025. » The start-up has already “around ten firm orders and between 300 and 400 purchase promises”, announces the CEO. Carriers Shiever and Transdev are expected to be among EHM's first customers.
A planned factory with 150 employees
This hydrogen combustion engine “ should have a range of 400 to 500 kilometers for trucks,” underlines Didier Arenal. The first units will be manufactured in the premises of Autoliv-Livbag, which produces gas generators for airbags in Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerc'h.
Next, the start-up will seek to raise around 100 million euros for the construction of a manufacturing plant in the Lospars area, in Châteaulin. “We hope to be able to begin construction of this factory in 2027, indicates Didier Arenal. We should be able to manufacture around 3,000 engines per year there. It will have around 150 employees and will generate 1,500 indirect jobs in the region. This factory model will be duplicable elsewhere in France and Europe. »
According to Mélanie Thomin, EHM “is a cutting-edge company in a developing sector in France and Europe. It participates in the industrial reconquest within our local economy after the closure of the Doux factory. (in 2018, Editor’s note). She embodies the after. »
