With its capacity for innovation and industrialisation, and an annual output of 50,000 fuel cell systems, Symbio’s SymphonHy is paving the way for large-scale production, supporting automakers in their drive for low-carbon transport.
06 Dec 2023 | 2729 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Symbio, an equally owned joint venture between Forvia, Michelin and Stellantis, inaugurated SymphonHy on December 5, its first gigafactory, a centre of technological and industrial excellence.
Located in Saint-Fons, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, SymphonHy is the largest integrated fuel cell production site in Europe.
The site ...
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Symbio, an equally owned joint venture between Forvia, Michelin and Stellantis, inaugurated SymphonHy on December 5, its first gigafactory, a centre of technological and industrial excellence.
Located in Saint-Fons, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, SymphonHy is the largest integrated fuel cell production site in Europe.
The site houses the Group’s headquarters, a production plant, an innovation hub, and the Symbio Hydrogen Academy. With its state-of-the-art technology, SymphonHy has a high level of automation and robotics supporting large-scale industrial production at a more competitive cost. These developments are key to accelerate the roll-out of competitive, high-performance hydrogen-powered transport, and contribute to the energy transition and the ambitions of Europe to move towards net zero.
SymphonHy in figures:
- A current production capacity of 16,000, to reach 50,000 by 2026
- An existing surface area of 26,000 square metres, 40,000 square metres by 2026
- 7,000 square metres of space dedicated to innovation
- 8,000 square metres of ISO 8-certified cleanrooms
- More than 450 engineers, including 100 dedicated to innovation and around 20 PhDs covering a wide range of disciplines (electrochemical engineering, chemistry, materials science, etc.), brought together in a single world-class innovation centre.
Making zero-emission hydrogen mobility an affordable reality
With more than 30 years of experience, leaders in the automotive world, and with six million kilometres of road-testing already on the clock, Symbio has developed unique expertise. The Group offers a broad portfolio of solutions that meet all power, durability and autonomy requirements for an efficient zero-emission mobility, from on-road light and mid-range commercial vehicles, trucks, pickups, buses and coaches, to off-road lifting and mechanical handling equipment.
With SymphonHy, Symbio is able to support its customers, pioneers of hydrogen-powered transport, in their deployment plans, which are already showing promise now, in the real world.
Stellantis, which is a Symbio co-shareholder, was the first company to market a zero-emission hydrogen solution for light commercial vehicles for the Peugeot e-Expert, Citroën e-Jumpy and Opel Vivaro-e models. The company is expanding its range to include large vans with a mid-power architecture, a range of up to 500km and a recharge time of less than 10 minutes. Stellantis has confirmed its plans to develop a hydrogen technology for its Ram brand pickups, in line with its aim of electrifying its portfolio of vehicles with a range of 320 miles ALVW or 200 miles GCWR and fast tank refilling, without compromising on payload capacity. All these vehicles will be equipped with fuel cells produced by Symbio.