HYDROGENE DE FRANCE : Acceleration of HDF Energy commercial development in 2021

Landmark achievements:

• CEOG, the world's first multi-megawatt hydrogen power plant, entered the construction phase in September 2021;
• Reinforcement of development teams in 5 priority geographies: 6 new projects in development since June 2021;
• €95 million in cash and current financial assets, with the highly successful IPO in June 2021, to support the acceleration in the Company's development;

Robust outlook:

• Potential for 2,364 MW in RE capacity and 5,406 MWh in hydrogen storage capacity to be delivered from 2023;
• Renewstable^® Barbados (“RSB”), the second HDF Energy project to welcome a majority investor in February 2022;
• Confirmation of the targets presented at the time of the IPO: €100 million in revenues, with a clear acceleration expected from 2023, and an EBITDA margin of around 35% by 2025.

Bordeaux, 22 February 2022 – Hydrogène de France (“HDF Energy” or the “Company”) – Euronext Paris: HDF – a global pioneer in continuous or on-demand electricity generation from hydrogen and renewable energies (wind or solar), reports its sales activity and revenues for 2021.

Damien Havard, Chairman and CEO of Hydrogène De France, said: “2021 was a pivotal year in HDF Energy's development on many counts. We began construction of CEOG, our first Renewstable® power plant and a world first. This achievement demonstrates not only the expertise and know-how developed by HDF, but also to the great potential of hydrogen power in all parts of the world.

HDF Energy reached another structuring milestone in its development with its IPO, which allowed us to welcome two strategic partners, RUBIS and TERÉGA, as well as front-ranking French and foreign institutional investors and numerous individual shareholders. From this springboard, which provided the Company with the financial resources necessary to achieve its ambitions, HDF Energy has successfully intensified its commercial development, winning strategic positions and reinforcing its world leadership in the development of continuous or on-demand electricity generation projects based on hydrogen and renewable energy.

Our commercial portfolio, in power plant development and multi-megawatts fuel cell sales alike, is in line with our ambitions and will enable us to capture a significant proportion – between 12% and 17% – of total investment in projects.”

An extensive project portfolio, including 17 power plants under development and 1 under construction

HDF Energy is entirely focused on extending the project portfolio and moving each project through its major development phases (prospecting, development and construction). The pipeline is a leading indicator of the value to be created by the Company in the coming years. Each project is associated with the sale of high-power fuel cells, the key technology for clean, non-intermittent electricity generation developed by HDF Energy.

The table below lists all projects initiated and developed by HDF Energy, broken down by geography and stage of maturity, with the power to be installed.

Over the year, HDF Energy entered the construction phase of Centrale Électrique de l'Ouest Guyanais (CEOG), the French Guiana Electric Power Plant. CEOG is the world's first multi-megawatt hydrogen power plant and the world's largest project for green hydrogen storage of intermittent renewable energy (128 MWh of energy stored). It will produce fully renewable, stable and dispatchable power to supply the equivalent of 10,000 homes in French Guiana day and night, all year round, more cheaply than the area's existing diesel power plants, but without greenhouse gas emissions, fine particles, noise or fumes.

With total funding of €170 million, CEOG consists of a solar park, plus massive hydrogen long-term energy storage capacity coupled with short-term battery storage. Its production, injected into the EDF electricity grid, is guaranteed by a 25-year PPA.

Since June 2021, a further 6 projects have entered the development phase, bringing the project portfolio to a cumulative 591 MW in electricity generation and 1,429 MWh in energy storage capacity.

2021 revenues in line with the business plan

As a reminder, HDF Energy's project development revenues are recognised on a percentage-of-completion basis, based on the costs actually incurred over a given period, and may fluctuate depending on the development phase of the various projects. However, the value created is only recognised once a majority shareholder has acquired a stake in the project company.

Similarly, the supply of fuel cells only contributes to the Company's revenues when the cells are actually delivered, bearing in mind that manufacturing may be spread over a year or more and sales contracts include payment milestones.

On that basis, Hydrogène de France recorded revenues of €885 thousand in 2021, compared with €1,936 thousand in the previous year. As in the previous three years, revenues mainly comprise sums recognised in respect of the project development and project management assistance contract with CEOG, which has been accounted for using the equity method since the end of July 2018, plus a bonus relating to the decision to launch the construction of the power plant. The CEOG project, which has now entered the construction phase, accordingly generated reduced revenues in 2021.

For information, advance payments received but not recognised as revenues in 2021 amount to €2.1 million, of which €2.0 million relating to the CEOG fuel cell supply contracts. No advance payments were received but not recognised as revenues in 2020.

In view of its business and the revenue recognition principles laid down in IFRS 15, HDF Energy believes that revenues will not be a relevant indicator for assessing the Company's development over the coming years. It does not anticipate a significant acceleration in revenues before 2023.

In the coming years, HDF Energy's value creation will stem primarily from the development of stable and renewable electricity generation projects. The Company estimates that it will be able to generate revenues representing between 12% and 17% of a project's capex during the development and construction phases, including development services and the supply of fuel cells during the power plant construction phase.

Financial structure greatly strengthened by the success of the IPO

In June last year, the Company raised a net amount of €104 million[1] from the issue of new shares as part of its IPO on Euronext Paris.

At 31 December 2021, cash and financial assets amounted to €95 million, plus €4 million in restricted cash (non-current financial assets) tied up in the CEOG project. That guarantees the Company the financial resources necessary to continue its development and significantly accelerate its commercial rollout.

Implementation of the development plan

HDF Energy has, for several years, taken a considerable lead in the development of hydrogen power projects. The Company plans to capitalise on its pioneering position to become a global reference player in the development of continuous or on-demand power plants based on hydrogen and renewable energies (wind or solar).

In the second half of 2021, HDF Energy substantially reinforced its development teams in each of the Company's five priority geographies (EMEA, Latin America & Caribbean, Asia, Southern Africa and Oceania). With a dedicated team of 23 talents experienced in the development of large-scale electricity generation projects and major strategic project development partnerships concluded with its two industrial shareholders, RUBIS and TERÉGA, HDF Energy is rapidly increasing the number of opportunities identified (50 projects to date, all stages combined) and ensuring optimal project development.

The Company recently took a further step in the development of Renewstable® plants with the entry of a majority investor in the Renewstable® Barbados project. RSB, the Caribbean's largest hydrogen project, will supply clean, resilient, stable and competitive baseload electricity 24/7 to 16,000 residents. Using only the sun as its primary source of electricity (50 MW of solar energy), RSB combines 128 MWh of green hydrogen and battery storage to deliver a continuous output of power, day and night.

At the same time, HDF Energy is continuing to develop the Blanquefort factory (mass production of high power fuel cells), for which the building permit application is currently being examined. The factory could accordingly be operational in 2023, as planned.

In view of the considerable interest in HDF Energy's solutions, the Company intends to swiftly deploy its offering in order to secure strategic positions as a source of long-term growth and profitability, confirming the target of delivering €100 million in revenues and an EBITDA margin of around 35% by 2025.

Read the financial information of Hydrogène de France
on www.hdf-energy.com

ABOUT HYDROGÈNE DE FRANCE (HDF ENERGY)

HDF Energy is a global pioneer in hydrogen energy. HDF Energy develops high-capacity Hydrogen-Power plants and is active, through dedicated project companies, in their operation. These plants will provide continuous or on-demand electricity from renewable energy sources (wind or solar), combined with high power fuel cells supplied by HDF Energy.

HDF Energy develops two types of Hydrogen-Power plants:

• Renewstable^® (POWER TO POWER): Multi-megawatt power plants, producing stable electricity 24h/day, composed of an intermittent renewable source and on-site hydrogen energy storage.
• HyPower^® (GAS TO POWER): Multi-megawatt power plants producing electricity on demand from green hydrogen from gas transportation networks.

HDF Energy has integrated key fuel-cell know-how under a memorandum of understanding with Ballard (seven-year exclusive licence agreement) and has developed the world's first mass production plant for high-power fuel cells for energy, which will be commissioned in France (Bordeaux Metropole) in 2023. Through this activity, HDF Energy will also serve the maritime and data center markets.

HDF Energy has positioned itself as a powerful accelerator of the energy transition by offering non-intermittent, grid-friendly and on-demand renewable power.

HDF shares have been listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris compartment B since 24 June 2021.

Contacts

[1] Excluding bond conversions and transaction-related fees

Source Actusnews