FAQ : HYNOCA® Flex
How can your technology sharply reduce hydrogen production costs?
The full production cost of hydrogen, commonly referred to as LCOH (Levelized Cost of Hydrogen), includes feedstock costs, CAPEX depreciation, OPEX, and energy losses.
The new generation of equipment enables hydrogen production capacity to be increased more than tenfold. This results in a very significant reduction in CAPEX per kilogram of hydrogen produced, but also in OPEX. Energy efficiency has also been greatly improved.
Given that the feedstock — biomass — is generally highly competitive, with an energy cost equivalent to around 30% of the average electricity price, this enables the production of highly competitive hydrogen. Taking into account the overall energy efficiency of the process, the feedstock cost is less than €1 per kilogram of hydrogen.
It is also important to highlight that the revenues generated by a Hynoca® Flex unit in particular include the sale of biogenic CO₂, allowing additional cost synergies. Furthermore, the co-production of electricity enables the unit to operate for more than 8,000 hours per year, which significantly reduces depreciation costs.
Do you think this approach will allow the hydrogen industry to take off?
The development of the hydrogen industry requires that the entire value chain be in place. However, one of the key drivers for enabling this ecosystem is the ability to produce hydrogen at a competitive cost compared to fossil alternatives. With Hynoca® Flex, this is now a reality. As a result, Hynoca® Flex can become a major contributor to the large-scale deployment of the hydrogen sector.
How will you manage the industrial scale-up?
Haffner Energy’s approach is modular. For most components, we are talking about a scale-out strategy rather than a scale-up. Scale-out is far easier to implement, as it consists of assembling standardized modules — much like battery cells or photovoltaic panels.
Will biomass availability be a limiting factor?
Biomass availability is always one of the first aspects to be considered when developing a project. However, this is no more restrictive than access to electricity or any other energy source.
One of Hynoca® Flex’s major advantages is that the process is biomass-agnostic. It can utilize any type of residual biomass available locally and seasonally: manure, sludge, organic waste, agricultural residues, etc.
For example, a Hynoca® Flex unit consumes around 31,000 tonnes of dry biomass per year within a radius of approximately 100 km. This represents only 0.16% of the total gross biomass produced annually within the harvesting area (considering the productivity of a temperate country like France).
The challenge is therefore not to find biomass, but rather to find a specific type of biomass. The flexibility of our process eliminates this constraint.
Why not implement a biomass reservation system right away?
Implementing such a system requires the definition and testing of several operational procedures. We want to validate these in real-world conditions before deploying them on a larger scale. A period of approximately three months seems appropriate to conduct these tests.
How do you manage to produce electricity on demand?
Producing electricity on demand is the exact opposite of intermittent and uncontrolled generation. Our customers can select the time slots when demand — and therefore electricity prices — are highest. The price differences between peak and off-peak hours can be substantial, especially given the challenges of storing electricity efficiently.
Hynoca® Flex enables on-demand electricity production thanks to the intraday storage of the syngas produced. This capability offers a highly relevant solution to the challenges of renewable energy intermittency and contributes to better grid balancing.
Do you have competitors?
To our knowledge, we are the first company capable of producing pure hydrogen at an industrial scale from biomass. As of today, we are not aware of any competitor offering a solution equivalent to Hynoca® Flex.
It is possible that new entrants will emerge on the market, but we will have gained extremely valuable operational experience. Our ambition is to take a decisive lead and become an undisputed leader in this sector.
What is the cost of a HYNOCA® Flex unit?
We cannot provide a standard cost figure, as it depends on numerous parameters, options and configurations that can vary fundamentally from one project to another.
Are you supported by public authorities?
The answer is both yes and no. Yes, through mechanisms such as France 2030 and through partners such as Bpifrance. But no, when considering renewable energy production support schemes, which are often designed for other technologies.
We operate in a very young sector with few players, which is currently a limitation. However, we are convinced that the advantages we offer will lead to increasing support over time.
Does this challenge hydrogen production by water electrolysis?
Absolutely not — quite the opposite. Water electrolysis is an elegant and efficient way to store and transport renewable electricity. Its large-scale deployment, however, requires the hydrogen ecosystem to be fully established.
We believe we can contribute significantly to this development by providing more decentralized and more flexible solutions such as Hynoca® Flex.