France-headed green hydrogen producer Lhyfe and Germany-headed Schaeffler AG, a leading global supplier to the automotive and industrial sectors, have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to boost green hydrogen production in Bavaria, Germany. The plan is to build and operate a 15 MW electrolysis plant on Schaeffler's factory premises in Herzogenaurach, Franconia.
Founded in 2017 in Nantes, France, Lhyfe enables the regional and local establishment of hydrogen ecosystems and the tailored production of green hydrogen at an industrial scale through its production sites.
The aim of the agreement is to build and operate an electrolysis plant on Schaeffler’s factory premises in Herzogenaurach.
With a capacity of up to 15 MW, the plant will produce regional green hydrogen on an industrial scale.
Schaeffler intends to not only make its own production climate-neutral but also drive decarbonization forward in the region.
We are proud to support a giant company, like Schaeffler AG in its transformation towards climate-neutral production by 2030. The rapid supply of green hydrogen continues to be a massive task. Large-scale projects like the one by Schaeffler prove the readiness of the technology, provide confidence and security in the market and strengthen the appetite for investment, said Luc Graré, Head of Central & Eastern Europe Business at Lhyfe.
Green heat and hydrogen
The goal is to supply the region with approximately 3.7 tonnes of green hydrogen every day, starting in 2025. Potential customers include municipalities and hydrogen filling stations.
The waste heat generated by electrolysis will be fed into the industrial processes within the Schaeffler plant.
The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energies plays a central role in our goal of climate-neutral production until 2030. By partnering with Lhyfe, we have managed to team up with one of the most innovative companies to execute the green hydrogen plant on our premises in Herzogenaurach. The agreement underlines Schaeffler’s commitment to sustainability and hydrogen technology said Andreas Schick, Member of the Board of Managing Directors for Production, Supply Chain Management, and Purchasing at Schaeffler.
Strategic business area
Hydrogen is one of Schaeffler’s strategic business areas and is part of the company’s Roadmap 2025.
Electrolyzers consist of multiple metal bipolar plates layered on top of each other to form stacks.
Inside each stack, electricity is used to drive a chemical reaction in which water (H2O) is split into its basic components, the gases oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2).
Schaeffler is on the right track in its hydrogen business. This partnership will support not just our electrolysis and fuel cell activities, but it will also support our new competence center for hydrogen technology in Herzogenaurach. I am particularly delighted that in addition to the joint venture with Symbio, we have found another French partner in Lhyfe to jointly promote hydrogen in Europe, said Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler.
Electrolyzers for high-volume production
The LoI also envisages a technology partnership under which Schaeffler will provide polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.
Schaeffler makes electrolyzer stacks that are ideal for decentralized applications in hydrogen production. Under the technology partnership with Lhyfe, we will contribute this know-how and develop it further for our business in the Industrial division. This partnership shows that the market already sees us as a preferred partner for innovative electrolyzer solutions, commented Florian Windisch, Head of the Strategic Business Field Hydrogen in Schaeffler’s Industrial division.
