(Reuters) – France’s Faurecia said its hydrogen technology project was granted 213 million euros ($208.72 million) of public support from the European Commission as part of the Hydrogen IPCEI programme.
The company aims to create affordable clean mobility solutions by developing and industrialising a new generation of hydrogen tanks, both gaseous and liquid, by the end of 2027, it said in a statement.
Faurecia – whose takeover of German car parts company Hella has led to the creation of the new company Forvia – added that production will start in 2024 in its Allenjoie plant in France’s Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, with a goal of over 100,000 units produced per year.
On July 15, the European Commission authorised 15 member states to provide public funding of up to 5.4 billion euros ($5.48 billion) under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) programme to support research, innovation and first industrial deployment of hydrogen technologies in the region.
Gaztransport & Technigaz and McPhy Energy also received funds as part of the IPCEI scheme to develop their respective gigafactory hydrogen projects.
The European Commission had pledged to increase funding to support hydrogen, a fuel that can be produced using renewable power and which can replace fossil fuels in polluting industrial processes.
($1 = 1.0205 euros)
(Reporting by Dina Kartit; Editing by Juliette Jabkiro and Sudip Kar-Gupta)
