Schaeffler cooperates with French hydrogen producer Lhyfe in the production and purchase of green hydrogen

Source: Energy & Management Powernews , December 22 2022

The Bavarian automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler cooperates with the French hydrogen producer Lhyfe in the production and purchase of green hydrogen.

On its factory site in Herzogenaurach, north of Nuremberg (Bavaria), Schaeffler wants to build a 15-MW electrolyzer. The "Letter of Intent" signed by Lhyfe and Schaeffler on December 20 provides for mandatory purchase of the green hydrogen by Schaeffler, but not exclusively. The Bavarian company not only wants to use the cooperation to make its own production climate-neutral, but also to promote decarbonization in the region. Other regional companies are also to be supplied with hydrogen.

From 2025, around 3.7 tons of green hydrogen are to be available daily for the supplier and regional customers, such as municipalities and hydrogen filling stations. Schaeffler also plans to utilize the waste heat generated during electrolysis in industrial processes at its plant.

Luc Grare, head of Central & Eastern Europe Business at Lhyfe, said, "We are very proud to work with a major company such as Schaeffler AG and support them in achieving completely climate-neutral production by 2030." The rapid supply of green hydrogen remains a mammoth task, he added. Large-scale projects such as this, he said, will build confidence and security in the market and strengthen investment appetite.

Part of the agreement with Lhyfe is also a technology partnership to promote the use of Schaeffler electrolysis stacks. PEM electrolysis stacks from Schaeffler are also to be used in the water electrolysis plant planned in Herzogenaurach. PEM stands for "proton exchange membrane." "Schaeffler offers electrolyzer stacks that are perfectly suited for decentralized applications for hydrogen production," explains Florian Windisch. "In the technology partnership with Lhyfe, we will contribute this know-how and develop it further for our business in the Industrial division." The Head of Strategic Business Unit Hydrogen in the Industrial division at Schaeffler is certain that the partnership proves "that we are already a preferred partner in the market in the area of innovative electrolyser solutions."

Lhyfe's projects

Founded in 2017 in Nantes (France), the start-up Lhyfe produces and supplies green hydrogen for use in the transportation sector and in industry. In Germany, the hydrogen producer is involved in several projects. Together with Hamburg-based solar plant manufacturer Enerparc, Lhyfe is coupling a 20-MW solar plant with a 5-MW electrolyzer to lay the foundation for a regional hydrogen ecosystem in Luckau, Brandenburg.

The start-up is also working with Deutsche Bahn. From spring 2024, a hydrogen train of the type "Mireo Plus H" from Siemens Mobility is to run on a test route in Baden-Württemberg - between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim. Alongside the Siemens subsidiary, engineering service provider Wenger Engineering and systems supplier Wystrach, Lhyfe is also involved in DB Energie's "H2goesRail" project. At the Tübingen site, an electrolyzer from the Danish manufacturer Green Hydrogen Systems is to be operated exclusively with electricity from renewable energies from 2024 onwards, producing 30 tons of green hydrogen annually.

Author: Davina Spohn