Lhyfe, a world pioneer and pure player in renewable green hydrogen production, has signed with German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn to build and operate an electrolyser in Tübingen, from 2024, for the production of hydrogen to fuel a next-gen hydrogen train as part of the H2goesRail project. 

With an annual production capacity of around 30 tonnes, the Green Hydrogen Systems electrolyser that Lhyfe has selected for this project will be powered exclusively by electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar and hydropower).

Supporting Germany’s carbon-neutral ambitions 

In November 2020, Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility announced a collaboration to build hydrogen-powered trains to replace the fleet's 1,300 diesel trains by 2050. 

More broadly, the aim of the project – called H2goesRail – is to ensure a cleaner future for German rail transport. The announcement by Siemens and Deutsche Bahn was also in line with Berlin's political will to green its transport sector. 

Deutsche Bahn, which is wholly owned by the German state, wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Customised solutions for renewable hydrogen production

 

French manufacturer Lhyfe develops customised solutions to set up local production and distribution systems for renewable hydrogen. To this end, the company has specialised in the coupling of electrolysers and renewable energy plants. In this way, Lhyfe has said it is ‘pursuing the goal of establishing local and regional hydrogen ecosystems and promoting climate protection at the municipal level’. 

French firm Lhyfe today also has entities in German, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain, and will soon have in the region of 100 staff. The company is a member of France Hydrogène and Hydrogen Europe. Lhyfe raised €70 million in funding between 2019 and 2021, and inaugurated its first industrial green hydrogen production site on 30 September in Vendée. To date, the company can count more than 60 projects in France and abroad.

Decarbonising regional and commuter transport

 

As a producer and supplier of green hydrogen, Lhyfe supports the H2goesRail project of Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility, enabling short supply chains without road transport and sustainable climate-friendly operation. In the long term, the cooperation should provide important insights for the planned decarbonisation of regional and commuter transport.

 

"We are very proud to announce this first project in Germany, with a major partner which has very strong ambitions in terms of innovation and decarbonisation. This is proof that solutions exist. It is urgent that all the major transport players take steps to decarbonise their sectors,” commented Mathieu Guesné, Lhyfe's founding president. 

 

The Tübingen production site will be built in 2024, equipped with an electrolyser supplied by Green Hydrogen Systems, and will produce 30 tonnes of ecological hydrogen per year.