Symbio, a joint venture between Forvia, Michelin, and Stellantis, has inaugurated SymphonHy, its first gigafactory, in Saint-Fons, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France. SymphonHy is Europe’s largest integrated fuel cell production site, housing Symbio’s headquarters, a production plant, an innovation hub and the Symbio Hydrogen Academy, the companies said. The factory is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, automation and robotics for large-scale industrial production, aiming to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen-powered transport and contribute to Europe’s energy transition and net-zero goals.
SymphonHy’s current production capacity is 16,000 units, expected to increase to 50,000 by 2026. The existing facility spans 26,000 square meters, with plans to expand to 40,000 square meters (279,000 Square feet). The site includes 7,000 square meters (75,000 square feet) dedicated to innovation, 8,000 square meters (86,111 square feet) of ISO 8-certified cleanrooms and employs more than 450 engineers, including 100 innovation specialists and around 20 PhDs.
Symbio CEO Philippe Rosier emphasized the importance of SymphonHy in making hydrogen-electric mobility a sustainable, high-performance and affordable reality. “Delivered in less than two years, SymphonHy is testament of Symbio’s ability to meet its industrial commitments,” he said.
Patrick Koller, CEO of Forvia, remarked on the significance of this expansion for the global market and Forvia’s commitment to zero-emission mobility. “With Symbio, we cover 75% of the hydrogen mobility value chain,” Koller noted, highlighting Forvia’s achievements in hydrogen tank production.
Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, reaffirmed Michelin’s early belief in hydrogen and Symbio. He also mentioned Michelin’s subsidiary Watèa, which specializes in the energy transition of business fleets with hydrogen vehicles.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, highlighted the joint venture’s role in advancing hydrogen technology for commercial vehicles. “Hydrogen will contribute to reaching our ambitious carbon net zero by 2038 target,” Tavares said.
In collaboration with Schaeffler, Symbio has also established Innoplate, a joint venture for producing bipolar plates, a key component in fuel cells. Based in Alsace, France, Innoplate will start with a capacity of 4 million plates, increasing to about 50 million annually by 2030.
SymphonHy is part of the HyMotive project, supported by the European Union and the French government. HyMotive represents a €1 billion investment (more than %1.078 billion), with plans for a second gigafactory and aims to develop technology for fuel cell competitiveness. Since 2019, Symbio has grown from 50 to over 750 employees and expects to create 1,000 jobs through HyMotive, the company said.
