Faurecia hydrogen solutions belongs to FORVIA, the 7th global automotive technology supplier. This Division aims at pioneering hydrogen technologies to decarbonize mobility and industry.
At FORVIA, we believe hydrogen is key for effective decarbonization of economy and is a technology providing answers to sustainable mobility challenges. Hydrogen mobility technology is a necessary alternative to battery electric vehicles and is particularly suitable for certain intensive use cases.
Use cases for hydrogen mobility
In certain vehicle segments and use cases, including heavier transport applications and longer-range requirements, hydrogen will be the best option for decarbonization and offers advantages over battery electric vehicles (BEV).
It clearly brings a shorter refueling time for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) of 15 minutes and approximately three minutes for light-commercial vehicles (LCV). This increases convenience for end users and reduces downtime for fleet operators.
Hydrogen technology brings advantages also in terms of payload and autonomy. A hydrogen vehicle is lighter compared to a BEV which introduces significant additional weight, particularly in HDVs which means a loss in cargo capacity, added pollutant emissions from tires, as well as greater impact on road wear.
Finally, hydrogen technology brings a convenient solution: no range anxiety for the final user as refueling considerations with hydrogen are similar to ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) making it well suited to long-range requirements and for fleets that need to operate all hours.
In-house development and production capabilities
With serial production underway in state-of-the art facilities in South Korea, China and France, FORVIA is the first global supplier of hydrogen storage systems for mobility. In 2023, the Group delivered 11,000 hydrogen tanks to its customers, among which Stellantis, Hyvia, SAIC and Weichai, and is planning to scale up its production in North America, to be as close as possible to all its customers, in the coming years.
FORVIA develops and tests its hydrogen storage systems in house. The Group relies on its global center of expertise for hydrogen in France (in Bavans) where engineers and technicians are dedicated to hydrogen storage solutions design and validation. Expertise on simulation, a pilot line and a test center are gathered on this site to support fast and robust system development loop.
FORVIA is committed to providing best-in-class hydrogen storage solutions to its customers and those customers are renewing their trust in FORVIA with second and third business opportunities. Relying on its long experience as an automotive supplier, the Group leverages its strong knowledge of the demanding automotive industry as well as its global footprint to develop and industrialize tailored solutions that answer OEMs specific needs. This distinctive feature is supplemented by FORVIA’s expertise to develop cutting-edge complete hydrogen storage systems making the Group a preferred supplier of hydrogen storage solutions.
With serial production underway in state-of-the art facilities in South Korea, China and France, FORVIA is the first global supplier of hydrogen storage systems for mobility. In 2023, the Group delivered 11,000 hydrogen tanks to its customers and generated significant total sales. Those customers are all renewing their trust in FORVIA with second and third business opportunities. In coming years, a facility in North America will complement FORVIA’s footprint to reach all customers.
By leveraging its experience and resources, FORVIA is ready to provide best-in-class hydrogen storage solutions to its growing customer base in North America. In late 2023, FORVIA was awarded two contracts to supply Type IV hydrogen storage systems to major manufacturers of medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial trucks in North America.
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Our team on FORVIA booth at ACT Expo 2024, Las Vegas. |
In Europe, our hydrogen storage activities are located in France (1 plant and 1 R&D center)
Bavans R&D center, in France, is the global center of expertise for hydrogen. It is a unique site where FORVIA :
Designs hydrogen storage systems and produces prototypes tailored to customers’ specifications,
Tests hydrogen storage systems using state-of-the-art equipment for hydraulic, gas, leak and burst tests,
Develops new tank designs to increase their performance and in particular the volume of hydrogen stored per kg
Develops new industrial processes to accelerate production
Works on innovative materials and smart systems with embedded sensors to increase their safety, durability and recyclability.
In Allenjoie (France), FORVIA’s first French mass production plant for hydrogen has started deliveries in 2023 making it the first Hydrogen Storage supplier to ramp up production. Our Hydrogen mass production plant in Allenjoie has a capacity of 100,000 tanks a year and will serve customers from Europe.
Allenjoie plant is the blueprint for the deployment of the Faurecia’s global production standard, with accelerations in China, North America and Korea to follow in the coming years.
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Technician preparing tank for test | Technician manipulating a tank. | Allenjoie mass production plant, |
In Korea, our hydrogen storage activities are located in Jang-an and Yong-in (R&D center).
Our Korean site holds our global development hub of MEGC TYPE IV tanks, made with injection liner technology. A unique case in FORVIA.
Our Jang-an plant is operating since 2015 and has a production capacity of 2,700 tanks per year. It includes batch and EOL (End Of Line) test equipment.
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Technician preparing a tank for End Of Line test. Jangan, | Filament winding process. Yonchin, Korea. |
With its acquisition of Shenyang Gas Cylinder Safety Technology Co, Ltd (CLD) at the beginning of 2021, Faurecia is now an actor in Hydrogen Tank and Storage System market in China and further focuses on developing its hydrogen business.
The main products cover Type I, Type III, Type IV Tanks and Hydrogen Storage System, to satisfy customer needs for various applications: passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, off-road and other industrial applications.
So far, Faurecia CLD has delivered over 15,000 Type III tanks for automotive applications, and obtained the first Type IV production license and product homologation in China.
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In production since 2016. Shenyang, China | In production since 2007. Shenyang, China |
