Lhyfe inaugurates Germany’s largest commercial renewable hydrogen production site

Lhyfe, one of the world’s pioneers in the production of green and renewable hydrogen for the decarbonisation of mobility and industry, inaugurated its first commercial production site in Germany this month.

It is Lhyfe’s fourth production site, and its first outside France. On a one-hectare plot of land in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Lhyfe has installed a plant capable of producing up to four tons of renewable hydrogen per day (installed capacity of 10 MW). This hydrogen, produced via the electrolysis of water using renewable energy, is to be used to decarbonise heavy-duty mobility and industry.

To secure its supply of renewable electricity, Lhyfe has signed PPAs with producers in Germany, including EDPR.

On site, the facilities have been built in a container format with stackable modules to reduce their footprint. These modules handle the entire renewable hydrogen production and distribution process, from electricity conversion, cooling, water treatment and electrolysis, to hydrogen purification, compression and filling.

Image ©Lhyfe

The filling stations allow trucks, or tube trailers, to drop off empty containers and collect full ones to deliver renewable hydrogen to Lhyfe’s customers.

This renewable hydrogen is intended to supply customers in the mobility and industrial sectors. An agreement has already been announced for the supply of regional hydrogen refuelling stations of H2 MOBILITY, the leading hydrogen refuelling station operator in Germany.

Besides the customer base which Lhyfe has already built up in Baden-Württemberg, this site is also expected to supply a future distribution station in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

For industrial applications, renewable hydrogen offers a carbon-free alternative to grey hydrogen and natural (fossil) gas, particularly in the chemical, steel, and glass sectors. Lhyfe’s production site in Schwäbisch Gmünd could also supply the planned hydrogen-powered ‘H2-Aspen industrial zone’.

The project was subsidised by the state of Baden-Württemberg and the EU through the European Regional Development Fund, as a flagship project within the ‘H2-Wandel – Model Region for Green Hydrogen Baden-Württemberg’ initiative.

The Schwäbisch Gmünd site obtained its RFNBO (Renewable Fuel of Non-Biological Origin) certification in September 2025. RFNBO is the European Union’s most stringent standard for renewable hydrogen under the European Renewable Energy Directive. It certifies that Lhyfe’s hydrogen production at its Schwäbisch Gmünd site is 100% renewable and complies with the environmental and traceability criteria that must be met by sustainable activities under the EU Taxonomy.

The RFNBO certificate provides Lhyfe’s customers with proof of the sustainability of the molecule purchased, thus enabling them to be eligible for national and European grant schemes.

Present in Germany since 2020 through its German entity, Lhyfe has already built and operated a first unit in Baden-Württemberg on behalf of Deutsche Bahn as part of its ‘H2goesRail’ project.

With the commissioning of this fourth unit in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Lhyfe is strengthening its regional network and will continue to play an active role in the development of the renewable hydrogen sector in Germany by supplying the many players in the mobility and industrial sectors who, without needing an on-site unit, require regular and intensive supplies.

Luc Graré, Head of Central & Eastern Europe at Lhyfe, said: “We are proud to inaugurate Lhyfe’s very first site outside France, here in Baden-Württemberg, a state that has continued its efforts in recent years to establish itself as a model for the deployment of renewable hydrogen.

“With our three units in operation and some of the most advanced logistics in Europe, we have demonstrated our operational capabilities. We are now ready to open a new chapter in Lhyfe’s history in Germany, to deliver ever-increasing volumes and, in the long term, to develop on-site production units to meet the most significant needs, similar to the projects we are already carrying out in several European countries.”

For more information, visit www.lhyfe.com.