Symbio, an equally-owned joint venture between Forvia, Michelin and Stellantis, this month inaugurated SymphonHy, its first Gigafactory, which has been hailed as a centre of technological and industrial excellence. Located in Saint-Fons in the French Alps region, SymphonHy is the largest integrated fuel cell production site in Europe, confirming its role as a technological and industrial leader.
The new site houses the group’s headquarters, a production plant, an innovation hub of unparalleled dimension, 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 ambitions of Europe to move towards net zero.
With more than 30 years of experience, the support of its shareholders, 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 which 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 real life.
Stellantis, one of the world’s leading automakers and also 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 also recently confirmed its plans to develop hydrogen technology for its Ram brand pickups.
“SymphonHy is proof of Europe’s industrial and technological leadership. Together with the entire ecosystem and our private and public partners, we are ready to scale up and make hydrogen electric mobility, a sustainable, high-performance and affordable reality.
Delivered in less than two years, SymphonHy is testimony of Symbio’s ability to meet its industrial commitments, underpinning the acceleration of zero-emission hydrogen mobility deployment. The first 100% fuel cell system assembled at SymphonHy was produced in October 2023, just one month after the gigafactory became operational,” said Philippe Rosier, CEO of Symbio.