Faurecia creates global center of expertise for hydrogen fuel tanks

Faurecia (Nanterre, France), one of the world’s leading automotive technology companies, is announcing the creation of a global center of expertise for hydrogen storage systems at its R&D center in Bavans, France.

Faurecia aims to invest in research and development in new-generation high-pressure tanks that are more efficient and lighter, as well as in a test center to characterize these tanks.

The center, scheduled to start operations in the second quarter of 2020, represents a total investment of approximatively €25 million, including €4.9 million in subsidies from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. In the long term, Faurecia plans to create 50 highly qualified jobs at the Bavans site, which already has nearly 750 employees dedicated to Faurecia’s Clean Mobility activity.

“The creation of our hydrogen tank centre of expertise in France is a key step forward in Faurecia’s strategy to become a global leader in fuel cell systems,” says Christophe Schmitt, executive vice-president of Faurecia Clean Mobility. “Perfectly adapted to commercial and heavy goods vehicles, this technology will play an important role in zero emission mobility.”

Marie-Guite Dufay, president of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, adds, “Hydrogen is a long-standing, mature and recognized sector in the region. It has a robust ecosystem, with large industrial groups, structuring facilities, pioneering territories, and projects of an extremely large scale. The implementation of a global center for hydrogen storage systems in Bavans is excellent news and will further strengthen the development of this industry in the region. We have a major ambition with the hydrogen sector: to become a leading region in France and Europe.”