PARIS: Schlumberger New Energy, the CEA and partners have announced Florence Lambert as the CEO of the Genvia clean hydrogen production technology venture, effective March 1, 2021.
Florence brings more than 20 years of experience in new energy technologies and was previously CEO of CEA-LITEN in Grenoble, France.
“Florence has been a respected voice at the forefront of energy transition technology development for a number of years. We are delighted that she has chosen to bring her experience and passion to the leadership of Genvia. We believe that hydrogen is a critical energy carrier that will enable countries to meet their decarbonization ambitions,” said Ashok Belani, Executive Vice President Schlumberger New Energy.
In the next 30 years, hydrogen production could account for 20% of total energy demand, according to the Hydrogen Council. Genvia’s technology development and industrialization activities will be in step with the anticipated strong growth of the hydrogen economy. Genvia will provide innovative early solutions through strategic alliances in different industries.
“Genvia brings together an extraordinary group of partners, to foster the new ecosystem needed to accelerate the development and industrialization of affordable clean hydrogen production. I am particularly delighted to have the opportunity with Genvia to create business and employment growth while making an impact on climate change,” said Florence Lambert, the newly appointed Genvia CEO.
The Genvia high-performance solid oxide electrolyzer technology developed by the CEA is fully reversible, giving it the flexibility to switch between electrolysis and fuel cell functions. Genvia technology design will enable a 30% higher electricity conversion efficiency per kg of hydrogen produced, bringing the cost of producing clean hydrogen down to a level that competes aggressively with other sources of energy.
Leveraging Schlumberger technology industrialization experience, the first Genvia manufacturing pilot line will be established at a Schlumberger manufacturing facility in Béziers in 2021. Genvia will also set up a Technology Centre co-located with the CEA in Grenoble, France, to accelerate the maturing of the technology through the industrialization process.
Genvia will participate in a series of demonstration projects with partners in different use cases for the industrial, energy and mobility sectors. These demonstration projects will pave the way for the development of the full value chain for the utilization of hydrogen as the clean energy carrier of choice. The different demonstration projects are expected to range from 300 kW systems in 2023 to larger systems with megawatt capacities in 2024.
Based on the results of the pilot line and demonstration projects, investment into the building of a giga factory for the production of solid oxide electrolyzer and fuel cell stacks is expected to launch in 2025. The production ramp of the giga factory will enable Genvia to meet the gigawatt deliveries of electrolyzers and fuel cells, which the market is anticipated to demand at an accelerated pace in 2030 and beyond.
Schlumberger is the world’s leading provider of technology to the global energy industry. Schlumberger New Energy explores new avenues of growth by leveraging Schlumberger’s intellectual and business capital in emerging new energy markets, with a focus on low-carbon and carbon-neutral energy technologies. Its activities include ventures in the domains of hydrogen, lithium, carbon capture and sequestration, geothermal power and geoenergy for heating and cooling buildings.
The CEA is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas: energy transition, digital transition, technology for the medicine of the future and defense and security. With a workforce of 20,000 people, based in nine French sites equipped with very large-scale research infrastructures, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners, in France, Europe and worldwide. According to the Clarivate 2019 ranking, the CEA is the first French research organization, in terms of number of patents filed in France and Europe.
The CEA invested through its fully owned subsidiary CEA Investissement, a unique tool for a public research organization. It is assisted and operated by Supernova Invest, the CEA’s private equity partner, which brings its in-depth experience of cutting-edge technologies towards more than 140 investments in deeptech companies, including in the hydrogen industry.
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