Gen-Hy chooses the Montbéliard region to set up the first French hydrogen electrolyser plant using its AEM technology

Presentation of Gen-Hy

Gen-Hy is a spin-off of FlexFuel Energy Development, a company specialising in future technologies. Its ambition is to contribute to the development of a 100% French hydrogen technology sector.
It has developed a new generation of electrolysers incorporating its innovative and patented ZERO GAP technology of AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane) membranes, the result of a 5-year collaboration with French laboratories and the support of the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement). Gen-Hy’s AEM ZERO GAP stacks (hydrogen generators) combine the advantages of alkaline and PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technologies, achieving an energy efficiency of more than 85%, without using rare metals. To date, there are only 7 membrane producers (all technologies combined) in the world, none in France.
Gen-Hy will be the only company in the world to master the entire electrolysis value chain: membrane production, catalytic deposits and stack integration. The patented Hy-Cube® electrolyser system, modular and agile, is designed for medium-sized on-site hydrogen systems (50kW to 4MW)

A future production plant unique in France and 120 jobs created

Gen-Hy chose to announce the news on the occasion of the inauguration of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté collective pavilion at the Hyvolution exhibition.
Backed by international industrial players, Gen-Hy is now entering the industrialisation phase of its innovative solutions. To do this, the company, whose R&D is historically based in the south of the Ile-de-France region, has chosen to set up in the Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération, and in particular in the Technoland 2 business park, to produce its range of Hy-Cube® electrolysers on a large scale. Gen-Hy has announced the creation of 120 jobs by 2025 on the site.
The factory, which will eventually cover 8,000 m2, will be built on a 4 hectare plot by the SEM PMIE (Pays de Montbéliard Immobilier d’Entreprises) and will be operational in 2023. The process investment, excluding real estate, amounts to €15 million.
Sébastien LE POLLÈS, President of Gen-Hy, and his team were able to count on the coordination of the regional and local development agencies (AER BFC and ADN-FC) and the mobilisation of the State, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération, and SEM PMIE, within a very short timeframe, in order to collectively provide a response that was adapted to the company’s technical and financial challenges.

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, an attractive hydrogen territory!

The deployment of the Hydrogen sector is one of the strategic orientations of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, a pioneer in France for more than 20 years.
The regional Hydrogen sector is based on a fertile university foundation and a real synergy between local authorities, researchers and industrialists. The companies positioned in the hydrogen value chain are strongly represented in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and innovate daily, in connection with:

• the internationally recognised FC Lab Support and Research Unit (UAR) in Belfort and the FEMTO-ST research laboratory (University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and CNRS), as well as the Hydrogen Energy platform in Belfort
• the major industrial accounts present in the region: STELLANTIS, GENERAL ELECTRIC, ALSTOM, FAURECIA, HYNAMICS (EDF)…
• the many regional manufacturers of H2 vehicles: trailers, autonomous trailers, 2 or 3 wheelers, refuse collection vehicles, trucks…

This remarkable regional commitment of 100 million euros is already having a significant impact on the economic dynamism of the territories and on private investment. Numerous industrial projects have seen the light of day over the last 10 years: the emergence of start-ups, the establishment of major industrial sites (electrolyser gigafactory, production of high-pressure tanks, etc.), diversification or mutation of companies towards new production or service activities for the rapidly growing hydrogen sector. The Region has also placed an order with Alstom for 3 hydrogen trains,