New Flemish consortium ‘Hyve’ to invest in hydrogen

A group of organisations, consisting of Bekaert, Colruyt Group, Deme, Imec, John Cockerill and Vito have joined forces to invest in the production of green hydrogen.

The newly established consortium called ‘Hyve’ aims to produce green hydrogen using electrolysis in a cost-efficient and sustainable way at a gigawatt scale. The consortium members will combine their expertise to develop new components for electrolysers to generate green hydrogen cost-effectively.

The members encompass the whole value chain with the following responsibilities:

• Flemish research centres Imec and Vito, which are partners in EnergyVille, will leverage their knowledge to boost the efficiency of the electrolysis technology. Imec’s expertise in solid-state electrolytes, electrode surfaces, and process technology at the nanoscale is combined with VITO’s expertise in membranes, catalysis, and system integration.
• Bekaert, supplier of Metallic Porous Transport Layers for electrolysis, will supply the appropriate materials.
• John Cockerill, producer of alkaline electrolysers, will integrate the results into its production.
• DEME, a dredging and offshore energy services provider, aims to use novel electrolysers to convert wind and solar energy into green hydrogen and derived green products (e-fuels). Its ‘Hyport’ concept aims to import cheap green hydrogen products into Europe.
• Colruyt Group will support research applications for sustainable transport. It is operating a hydrogen refuelling station, testing hydrogen-powered forklifts and the first heavy-duty trucks, collaborating on a green hydrogen plant in Zeebrugge through the energy holding company Virya Energy and is exploring e-fuels via Dats24. The group also put its first 44-ton hydrogen-powered electric heavy-duty truck in Europe on the roads.

Jef Colruyt, CEO at Colruyt Group, said, “We are convinced that with our partners in a strategic cooperation for the development of a new promising hydrogen electrolysis component, we can take important steps towards a more sustainable mobility and energy supply.”

Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO at DEME Group, said, “This initiative complements and reinforces DEME’s ongoing efforts towards solving global challenges, like reduction of CO2 emissions, and is fully aligned with its strategic objectives.”

Oswald Schmid, CEO at Bekaert, said, “We are committed to delivering long-term value to all our stakeholders and as such, create sustainable business partnerships. Like the one of this consortium.”

Jean-Luc Maurange, CEO of the John Cockeril Group, said, “Thanks to our position as world leader in the manufacture of high-capacity electrolysers and our expertise in the field of hydrogen, we can put our know-how at the service of improving performance to make this project an innovative and iconic success in decarbonising industry”,

Dirk Fransaer, MD of Vito said that Hyve is a striking example of collaboration and constitutes an important step for the research on green hydrogen in Flanders.

Luc Van den hove, CEO at imec, said, “Our ‘power-to-molecules’ program, investigating how CO2 can be converted into valuable molecules for industry, points the way towards a carbon-neutral society.” He further added, “Within Hyve, imec and VITO combine their knowledge and transfer it to an ambitious, large-scale innovation project to make Flanders a frontrunner in green hydrogen.”