Gruyère Energie, which has a dedicated hydrogen subsidiary, is to launch production at its site in Bulle, near Fribourg. Liebherr will be one of its first customers.

Nothing to do with the cheese industry, even though the Gruyère region is world-renowned for that very reason. It just so happens that the operator Gruyère Energie has launched a subsidiary in 2021, called Gruyère Hydrogen Power. The plant is located in the commune of Bulle, in the canton of Fribourg, the capital of the Gruyère district. GHP will start production of “green” hydrogen, which will be used for industrial applications, mobility and energy storage in general.

According to the PME.ch website, one of the first customers is Liebherr for its Machine division. The manufacturer has a site in Bulle, where it carries out bench tests on hydrogen-powered engines. It will be supplied with 1,500 kg of hydrogen per week, delivered via a pipeline around one hundred metres long. Liebherr, which also acquired a 25% stake in GHP in 2023, intends to start mass production of these engines in 2027.

It is worth mentioning that the GHP hydrogen production site is in the immediate vicinity of the electricity, drinking water and district heating networks. This means that the excess waste heat from the water electrolysis process can be used all year round. Thus Gruyère Energie is contributing to the implementation of the Swiss government’s Energy Strategy 2050, the main pillar of which is the development of renewable energies.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili