French green hydrogen developer H2V is looking to raise EUR 100m to finance the roll-out of its electrolysers, designed to decarbonise industry and heavy-duty transport sectors.
The company, which targets large-scale production plants of at least 100 MW, has appointed French advisory firms Vulcain and Compagnie Financiere du Lion (CFL) to run the capital raise, according to sources.
The process, codenamed Project Saturne, launched just over a month ago and NBOs were due in mid-March.
Since its launch in 2016 by family-owned private equity firm Samfi Invest, H2V has developed 3 GW of operational hydrogen capacity and is aiming to have 6.5 GW in France by 2030 as part of its wider 40 GW European target.
The company currently has seven late-stage development projects and another five project sites under study.
Among its most developed projects is a 200 MW hydrogen production plant in the centre of the port area of Dunkirk, due to come online in 2024-2025.
Its largest development project is a 600 MW hydrogen plant in Marseille, made up of six 100 MW production units, each with a commissioning date of 2026.
The Dunkirk project requires an investment of around EUR 231m-EUR 250m; while H2V expects to spend between EUR 700m-EUR 750m on the project at the Port of Marseille Fos, according to its website.
In January 2021, Air Liquide bought a 40% stake in H2V’s large-scale electrolyser development project in Normandy. The scheme is designed to decarbonate industrial activities on the Seine Valley, which is one of Air Liquide's historical industrial basins in France.
Air Liquide later in 2021 increased its stake in H2V Normandy to 100% and renamed the project Air Liquide Normand’Hy. The 200 MW site is planned to be commissioned in 2025.
Last March, Air Liquide received EUR 190m support from the French State to launch the project under its Hydrogen Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI Hydrogen) programme.
H2V is owned by Normandy-based renewables investor Samfi Invest, which beyond hydrogen is active in wind and solar farms through its Samwind and SamSolar arms.
Samfi Invest has built 134 MW of onshore wind in France through Samwind and is currently developing projects in Belgium.
Samsolar is also developing 45 MW of roof and ground-mounted photovoltaic plants across France and abroad.
H2V, Samfi Invest, Vulcain and CFL did not respond to requests for comment.
