The plant will supply the French domestic and international markets in heavy marine and rail mobility and electricity generation for energy grids.
Production of the plan, located at the Former Ford factory in Blanquefort, France, will begin in 2024 and HDF initially plans to manufacture 1.5MW fuel cells before gradually ramping up its capacity to 10MW. Around 80% of the production volume will be exported.
In 2024, the production capacity is expected to reach 100MW of fuel cells per year, representing over 100 direct jobs. HDF plans to establish 70% of its supply chain at regional, national and European levels.
Delivery of building is scheduled for late 2023 after which the company’s headquarters will be transferred here, with the plant aiming to contribute to the reindustrialisation of France and Europe.
The company has already signed a number of strategic partnerships for projects involving hydrogen-powered freight locomotives and large vessel propulsion and auxiliary power systems.
HDF has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Teréga Solutions and Hype to cooperate on the development of hydrogen mobility in the Blanquefort region. Under the agreement, there is the possibility of launching a joint venture tasked with deploying green hydrogen distribution stations in order to accelerate and scale up the use of heavy and light hydrogen mobility in the area.
Last year, HDF acquired a major stake in a NewGen project aiming to be the ‘first’ industrial project to produce green hydrogen in the Caribbean.
Once completed, the $200m plant will support the growing green economy in the Caribbean whilst also meeting 20% of the hydrogen requirement for an existing world-scale ammonia plant in Point Liasas, Trinidad.
The project in France was pre-notified as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in October 2022.
The company is awaiting the commission’s approval due this summer in order to step up its industrial project and transform the plant into a gigafactory, therefore generating over 500 jobs in the regional industrial area.
The plant’s construction and operation is subject to BREEAM certification, an international standard for assessing the environmental impact of a building in order to promote greener architecture.
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