Lhyfe has commenced construction of a major green hydrogen production facility in Le Cheylas, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The project, which will use renewable electricity to produce hydrogen through water electrolysis, aims to decarbonise local mobility and industry.
Situated on a 7,000-square-metre plot at a former Ascométal steelworks site, the plant, named Lhyfe Le Cheylas, will launch in early 2026 with an initial production capacity of 4 tonnes per day and an installed electrolysis capacity of 10 MW. This capacity represents a doubling from its original 5 MW plan, making it the largest Lhyfe site in France, surpassing the company's Bessières and Buléon plants, each with 5 MW.
Lhyfe has already set up four production sites—three in France and one in Germany—and uses electricity from renewable sources supplied by national producers for hydrogen production. In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France's leading industrial region, hydrogen is being integrated into key sectors, further supported by the region's commitment to decarbonisation initiatives such as the Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) project and IMAGHyNE (Investment to Maximise the Ambition for Green Hydrogen in Europe).
The Le Cheylas facility is a part of this regional effort, which seeks to establish a low-carbon hydrogen economy. Lhyfe has secured a ten-year sales contract with HYmpulsion to supply 600 tonnes of hydrogen annually (around 1.6 tonnes per day) to hydrogen stations in the Alps. Six HYmpulsion stations are already operational, and seven more are under construction.
With a total production capacity of 4 tonnes per day, the plant will also serve regional industries, including metallurgy, microelectronics, and chemicals, by replacing grey hydrogen and natural gas.
Lhyfe has received significant support for this project. The Just Transition Fund, as part of the 2021-2027 European Regional Programme, has allocated €5.5 million in subsidies, while the Clean Hydrogen Partnership provided an additional €0.75 million through the IMAGHyNE project.
Matthieu Guesné, founder and CEO of Lhyfe, praised the region's long-term vision and support for green hydrogen: “We commend the clear-sighted, visionary and determined nature of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, which as early as 2017 wanted to develop the green hydrogen sector to decarbonise its mobility and industrial fabric… This support is now enabling us to start building our largest production site in France.”
