Michelin JV Symbio inaugurates first hydrogen fuel cell gigafactory

Clermont-Ferrand, France – The Symbio JV between Michelin, Stellantis and Forvia (formerly Faurecia) has inaugurated a 'gigafactory' for the production of hydrogen fuel cells in France.

Based in Saint-Fons, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the facility is claimed to be “the largest integrated fuel cell production site in Europe."

The site houses Symbio’s HQ, a production plant, innovation hub and a hydrogen academy, according to Michelin's 5 Dec announcement.

The new factory features a “high level of automation and robotics supporting large-scale industrial production at... competitive cost,” the French group added.

Spanning an area of 26,000m2, the plant named SymphonHy currently has capacity to produce 16,000 fuel cell systems per year.

By 2026, the facility is to be expanded to 40,000m2 with annual output capacity slated to reach 50,000 units, Michelin added.

Around 450 engineers – including 20 with PhDs covering disciplines such as electrochemical engineering, chemistry and materials science – work today at the site.

According to Michelin, the first complete fuel cell system assembled at SymphonHy was produced in October 2023.

A key client for these systems will be automaker Stellantis, which acquired a 33% share in Symbio earlier in August (ERJ report).

Stellantis has announced plans to expand its range of zero-emission hydrogen vehicles in the future.

“SymphonHy is proof of Europe's industrial and technological leadership, together with the entire ecosystem and our private and public partners,” said Philippe Rosier, CEO of Symbio.

Also commenting Forvia CEO Patrick Koller described hydrogen technology as “the only complementary, credible alternative” to battery electrification.

“With Symbio, we cover 75% of the hydrogen mobility value-chain, from fuel cells to storage systems,” Koller added.

The French JV is also working to develop solutions to improve the range of customers' fuel-cell electric vehicles.

Symbio was initially founded in 2010 as SymbioFCell, a start-up specialised in the design and development of fuel cell systems.

Michelin acquired the company in 2018 before turning it into a JV with Forvia in 2019.

“Entry of Stellantis into the capital this year confirms that hydrogen meets a constant concern to support the future of mobility,” said Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux.

The technology, claimed Menegaux, is “proving to be an essential addition to satisfy the need for longer range, particularly for commercial vehicles.”

SymphynHy is part of a €1-billion HyMotive project (ERJ report): a strategic industrial and technological initiative supported by the EU and French governments.

The multi-year project aims to build a second gigafactory, doubling its overall production capacity in France to 100,000 systems a year, by 2028.

In addition to this project, Symbio has also set up a 50:50 joint venture with German group Schaeffler to produce bipolar plates (BPPs), a strategic component in fuel cells.

Based in Alsace, France, Innoplate will be operational in the first quarter of next year with an initial capacity of 4 million BPPs.

The JV intends to raise production capacity to 50 million BPPs annually and employ over 120 people by 2030.