By Dina Kartit
(Reuters) -France’s Faurecia said its project to develop a new generations of hydrogen tanks was granted 213 million euros ($209 million) of support from the European Commission as part of the Hydrogen IPCEI programme.
Faurecia’s “Historhy Next” project aims to develop new generations of hydrogen tanks, both gaseous and liquid, by the end of 2027, it said in a statement.
Faurecia, part of the Forvia group formed after its merger with German car parts company Hella, added that production would start in 2024 at its Allenjoie plant in France’s Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, with a goal of producing more than 100,000 units per year.
Symbio, a joint-venture between Faurecia and Michelin, also has a hydrogen project waiting for European Commission approval, Faurecia said in a statement.
ODDO BHF analyst Michael Foundoukidis said Faurecia’s announcement, alongside Plastic Omnium’s similar announcement last week, confirms the strength of French OE suppliers’ offerings in the fuel cell sector.
The European Commission in July authorised 15 member states to provide public funding of up to 5.4 billion euros ($5.48 billion) under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) programme to support research, innovation and first industrial deployment of hydrogen technologies in the region.
Other French companies such as Gaztransport & Technigaz and McPhy Energy have also received funds to develop their respective gigafactory hydrogen projects as part of the IPCEI scheme.
The European Commission had pledged to increase funding to support hydrogen, a fuel that can be produced using renewable power and which can replace fossil fuels in polluting industrial processes.
($1 = 1.0205 euros)
(Reporting by Dina Kartit; editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jason Neely)
