Airbus, Kawasaki to study hydrogen application in aviation; Mitsui invests in Lhyfe

Airbus and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have signed an MoU to gain a wider understanding of hydrogen supply, infrastructure and fuelling and will support the future deployment of hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft.

Airbus and Kawasaki will jointly prepare a roadmap with actions to address challenges and define an advocacy plan on hydrogen aviation needs through this initiative. Both parties will also embark on projects to pioneer the deployment of a hydrogen infrastructure for aviation, focusing on the development of Airport Hydrogen Hubs.

Airbus will provide aircraft characteristics, fleet energy usage, and insight on hydrogen-powered aircraft for ground operations. Kawasaki will provide cost outlook and technology drivers on the various elements of the supply chain while building infrastructure deployment scenarios for the supply of targeted airports

Mitsui invests in France’s Lhyfe

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. invested around €10 million by subscribing convertible notes in the French company Lhyfe.

Lhyfe is a French company that produces green hydrogen in Europe using renewable energy through a production process that emits zero CO2. It has developed its first commercial plant to produce renewable green hydrogen using power from wind turbines, which was inaugurated in 2021.

The company is already active in ten countries in Europe (France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Spain and Portugal) and has over 90 pipeline projects spread across 11 countries and with production start dates between 2022 and 2028. Lhyfe’s target markets are mobility and industry usage.

Through its participation in Lhyfe, Mitsui will become an insider in the European hydrogen market and contribute to enhancing Lhyfe’s corporate value by developing customers and leveraging synergies with its existing hydrogen-related business.