During the presentation of its 2023 annual results, Plastic Omnium talked about hydrogen, which is becoming one of its pillars for addressing heavy mobility.

For the first time, the French automotive supplier has passed the 10 billion euro mark, with record sales amounting to €11.4 billion, representing strong growth of 20% compared with 2022. While Plastic Omnium is confirming its leadership in historical activities (interior and exterior modules, lighting, sustainable mobility) the hydrogen business is continuing to build up its industrial and commercial strength.

Major customers from the automotive industry

Plastic Omnium’s Clean Energy Systems Division focuses on internal combustion engines and battery-powered electrification, while New Energies focuses on hydrogen. The latter includes fuel cells with EKPO as well as hydrogen tanks. The group boasts major customers in the traditional automotive industry (Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Hyvia, Stellantis, Toyota), as well as Chinese manufacturers (FAW, Great Wall, SAIC) and truck manufacturers (Traton, Volvo).

99% of the order book has to do with heavy mobility. It should be noted that Plastic Omnium captures 1.5 times more value from commercial vehicles and 15 times more from trucks than from cars.

Gigafactories in Europe and Asia

The industrial facilities are being ramped up with the planned opening in 2025 of a gigafactory at Lachelle, near Compiègne (northern France), selected as part of the Hy2Tech IPCEI. It will be Europe’s largest hydrogen tank plant. With an annual capacity of 80,000 hydrogen tanks, the plant will supply Stellantis and Hyvia, among others. In 2025, Plastic Omnium will commission the Wanju site in South Korea, with a capacity of 30,000 tanks a year. It will be dedicated to Hyundai. And in 2026, it will open a plant in Shanghai, China, as part of its PO-Rein joint venture.

Through New Energies, Plastic Omnium hopes to achieve annual results of €3 billion by 2030. To reach this objective, the Group plans to invest €100 million a year between now and 2030. Its order book currently stands at €4 billion.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King