(Boursier.com) — McPhy Energy announces the final investment decision for its Gigafactory of electrolysers on the Belfort site by its Board of Directors on October 26. This approval was followed by the signature with Bpifrance of a public aid contract by the French State up to 114 ME intended for the Gigafactory within the framework of the PIIEC system. The eligibility of the McPhy project for this scheme was validated by the European Commission last July.
Jean-Baptiste Lucas, Chief Executive Officer of McPhy, comments: “We are very pleased with the decision of our Board of Directors, which positively concludes the various favorable opinions received recently concerning our Gigafactory project. This will be a decisive tool in the development and design of large-scale electrolysers, which are essential for the use of green hydrogen in ambitious projects to decarbonize industry and heavy mobility We will soon have an industrial facility capable of producing in series a wide range of electrolyzers on a continental scale without equivalent among the other players in carbon-free electrolysis in Europe”.
The commissioning of the future plant is scheduled from the first half of 2024, with a gradual ramp-up with the aim of reaching an annual production capacity of 1 GW. The McPhy group will thus have a total annual production capacity of 1.3 GW, including the capacity of the San Miniato site in Italy, in line with the growth prospects of the green hydrogen markets, in particular that of industry.
The contract signed with Bpifrance specifies the procedures for implementing the public aid. McPhy will receive an initial payment of €28.5 million by December 31, 2022. Subsequent payments will take the form of reimbursement of expenses incurred under the terms of the contract, following the satisfactory completion of defined milestones, for a total amount, including the initial payment, of up to 114 ME.
The start of the construction site and the purchase of the land will result in a disbursement linked to the Gigafactory in the amount of 9 ME by the end of the financial year. In addition, and as previously indicated, McPhy intends to make new investments in order to be able to meet the growing demand for large-scale equipment and installations, by increasing its R&D resources and strengthening its project teams. and services. These efforts, implemented now, will result in additional charges in the second half of 2022 and should bring the cash position at the end of the year to a level comparable to that of the end of the first half, taking into account the initial payment from Bpifrance and disbursements related to the Gigafactory.
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