Sweden’s Metacon has entered into a partnership with Siemens AB to manufacture Chinese-designed hydrogen electrolyser systems for the European market.
It comes after Metacon at the start of 2024 was granted the exclusive rights to manufacture complete electrolysis plants based on Chinese-based PERIC’s pressurised alkaline electrolysis modules.
Read more:Metacon and PERIC advance collaborations with EU electrolysis plant production
The Swedish-based firm has access to PERIC’s 5MW and 10MW electrolyser modules, with rights applying to “most” European countries.
Upon signing the OME license and manufacturing agreement with PERIC, Metacon said it would explore building an electrolyser factory up to 500MW in capacity, ahead of scaling to 1GW.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Siemens will become a technology partner to Metacon and offer digital services and software for optimising, standardising and simulating both the manufacturing and operation of hydrogen plants.
With the aim of becoming one of the European “market leaders” for large-scale hydrogen plants, Metacon’s CEO and President, Christer Wikner, said the firm has “big plans” for the investment in manufacturing.
“I have a hard time imagining a better partner on such a journey than Siemens,” Wikner said. “This partnership gives us the opportunity to both accelerate and optimise central parts of our unique gigafactory project.”
Mikael Kraft, Head of Factory Automation and Sales at Siemens Digital Industries, added, “The partnership with Metacon marks a milestone in our quest to create a more sustainable world by, among other things, developing innovative solutions for the energy sector.”
Analysis: Is Europe’s solar crisis a window into the future for electrolyser OEMs?
In the face of the bloc’s ambitious renewable energy adoption targets, Europe’s solar industry is facing an existential crisis, characterised by steep competition from China, dwindling manufacturing capabilities and regulatory challenges.
Numerous EU-based original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have warned they could file for bankruptcy, pause production, close factories or restructure debts in recent months. In March (2024), Swiss-based Meyer Burger shut the doors of its German solar module factory in Freiburg.
Manufacturers have called on the EU for support, warning that “recent trends underscore significant challenges that continue to threaten the industry’s viability.” The position paper from SIRE – a network of seven EU regions – said low-priced Chinese modules “distorted competition and exacerbated market pressures.”
The group claims an oversupply of imported PV modules – often supported by Chinese subsidies – drove prices below EU production costs…
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