Lhyfe, SAF+ sign memorandum of understanding to produce eSAF

Photo: Lhyfe

Lhyfe, one of the world’s pioneers in the production of green and renewable hydrogen, and SAF+ International Group, a world leader in the production and marketing of electro sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF), announced Feb. 1 that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop an eSAF project from green and renewable hydrogen at a production site located in the Le Havre area of France.

This is the first announcement of its kind for Lhyfe.   

SAF+ brings together cutting-edge technical expertise to provide sustainable fuel solutions and help reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, using available raw materials and renewable energies—like the green hydrogen produced by Lhyfe—in accordance with international and European regulations (CORSIA and RefuelEU).

SAF+ brings together a coalition of leading international players from across the aviation value chain.

In July 2023, the company announced the signature of an MOU with the Air France-KLM Group for the supply of second-generation eSAF fuel, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2030.

Lhyfe produces green and renewable hydrogen through the electrolysis of water at production units powered by renewable energy.

The company’s first site has already been operational since the second half of 2021, and two further sites in France were inaugurated in December 2023.

Several other sites are currently under construction or extension across Europe.

As part of this MOU, Lhyfe and SAF+ plan to assess the potential for developing eSAF production in the Le Havre area and to sign a codevelopment agreement.

The partners are aiming for a facility in the port region of Le Havre, where Lhyfe would build a green-hydrogen production site with a capacity of more than 100 metric tons per day (300 megawatts of installed electrolysis capacity) to supply an eSAF production site that SAF+ is planning to build.

This industrial complex would be connected to the hydrocarbon-transport network in order to transport the eSAF obtained from Le Havre to airports in the Paris region, as well as in northern and eastern France via the existing infrastructure.

The two partners are aiming for a market launch by 2030, to align with market expectations and the zero-emission targets set for 2050.

“This agreement between Lhyfe and SAF+ shows our shareholders and stakeholders that our European strategy is well on track,” said SAF+ CEO Jean Paquin. “Demand for SAF in the coming years will be exponential, so we now need to be able to demonstrate that viable solutions will be put in place in the short term. The partnership signed today between two leaders like Lhyfe and SAF+ is proof that we can achieve these objectives.”

Matthieu Guesné, founder and CEO of Lhyfe, added, “Through this ambitious agreement with SAF+, we are demonstrating our determination to help decarbonise not only industry and road transport, but also air transport, which in 2020 accounted for 2.9 percent of global CO2 emissions. Green and renewable hydrogen is now a mature solution that has established itself as one of the pillars of decarbonization. It can and must now be deployed as quickly as possible, including in the aviation industry.”

Lhyfe is a European group devoted to energy transition, and a producer and supplier of green and renewable hydrogen.

In 2021, Lhyfe inaugurated the first industrial-scale green-hydrogen production plant in the world to be interconnected with a wind farm.

In 2022, it inaugurated the first offshore green-hydrogen production pilot platform in the world.

Lhyfe currently has seven sites under construction or expansion throughout Europe.

The company is represented in 12 European countries.

SAF+ has a state-of-the-art pilot plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where it has proven its expertise and eSAF production capabilities.

The company is currently developing a portfolio of projects around the world.

The first plant is scheduled to come on stream in 2028.