Hydrogen tank rollout, sustainable manufacturing accelerated via Forvia plant

Created in 2022, Forvia (Nanterre, France) is a company seeking to drive mobility solutions — particularly hydrogen — by leveraging the complementary technology and industrial strengths of automotive brands Faurecia and Hella. Its 47,000-square-meter Allenjoie, France mass production plant, now operational as of October 2023, adds to its 300+ industrial sites, 77 R&D centers and 1,000+ employees working on hydrogen activities.

Allenjoie is composed of two distinct plants located one kilometer apart — a clean mobility plant and a seating plant. Through its clean mobility plant, Forvia is aiming to become the largest mass production site for hydrogen storage in Europe, with a capacity of 100,000 hydrogen Type IV tanks a year. As a transition plant, two-thirds of the facility continues to produce emissions control solutions, with one-third dedicated to producing hydrogen storage solutions; Forvia expects it to be fully dedicated to hydrogen by 2030.

Allenjoie’s clean mobility plant will serve automotive and non-automotive customers across Europe by producing flexible storage systems that have a wide range of applications in distribution and transport, including heavy-duty hydrogen-powered vehicles. Currently, the complete hydrogen storage systems produced at Allenjoie equip Stellantis (Opel Vivaro-e, Citroën e-Jumpy, Peugeot e-Expert) and Hyvia (Renault Master Van H2 Tech) commercial fleets.

Between the two distinct plants, Forvia aims to reduce CO2 to net zero by 2045 and will already be carbon-neutral in Scopes 1 (direct on-site emissions) and 2 (indirect emissions from energy consumption) by 2025. At Allenjoie, sustainability has been factored in at every point, starting with the new building, with low carbon footprint construction, effective insulation, environmentally friendly biomass boilers and an innovative system to recover heat from welding cells. The building’s roof is also fitted with photovoltaic panels, and there are rainwater sanitation systems, a tree-planting initiative and on-site beehives. According to the company, Allenjoie will serve as a blueprint for Forvia factories around the world, including those in China, North America and South Korea, as the group rolls out its global production standards.

Learn more about Forvia’s various automotive-related developments such as:

• A new North American contract for Type IV hydrogen storage in medium-duty commercial trucks
• The 2022 exhibit of an XL CGH₂ tank, cryogenic LH₂ storage solution for heavy-duty trucks