Green hydrogen pioneer Lhyfe has signed a commercial, industrial and financial partnership with gas specialist Messer, with Messer taking a 30% stake in four of Lhyfe's hydrogen production sites in France and Germany.

The companies will also sign a ten-year contract on the supply of renewable hydrogen.

With that single transaction, Messer will not only become a long-term Lhyfe customer, but also a reference industrial partner and an investor in the assets' equity.

Messer is a privately held specialist for industrial, medical, electronic and specialty gases, offering gases, services and technology in Asia, Europe and America.

"It gives concrete form to the priorities announced by Lhyfe — commercial growth through indirect sales, revenue visibility and the demonstration of value created by its portfolio of sites — and marks Lhyfe's first capital rotation. The partnership brings together two highly complementary organizations," Lhyfe says.

Messer contributes decades of expertise in hydrogen technologies, applications, logistics and gas distribution, while Lhyfe has established itself as a leading developer and operator of renewable hydrogen production assets.

Meanwhile, the ten-year supply agreement will relate to three of Lhyfe's sites in France and one in Germany. Messer committed to a minimum volume starting in 2026, which is expected to gradually increase and reach several hundred tonnes a year.

Messer aims to purchase half of the output of the three French sites concerned.

By becoming a 30% shareholder in the company holding these four sites, Messer validates their industrial quality, commercial positioning and the value-creation potential of the assets developed by Lhyfe. 

Messer will bring its expertise in industrial gases, particularly in safety, operations, logistics, gas handling, customer relations and multi-gas distribution. This partnership is expected to contribute to the performance, resilience and commercial ramp-up of the sites concerned.

Through this agreement, Messer secures long-term access to renewable hydrogen, including RFNBO-certified hydrogen, sourced from multiple production sites in France and Germany. By integrating this hydrogen into its multi-gas offering, Messer will be able to meet the decarbonisation needs of both its existing industrial customers and new clients.

Beyond its commercial dimension, this partnership reflects a convergent view of the renewable hydrogen market between Lhyfe and Messer, including regarding its development potential over the medium to long term.

Lhyfe says it will benefit from more visible and recurring cash flows resulting from the long-term contract and minimum purchase commitment, as well as through Messer's 30% stake in four production sites.

Messer CEO Peter Mohnen says the agreement marks a major milestone for Messer and Lhyfe, and underlines Messer's long-term commitment to enabling the hydrogen economy.

"By securing access to substantial volumes of renewable hydrogen, we are strengthening our ability to support the decarbonisation ambitions of our customers and prospective customers across a wide range of industries. Demand for renewable hydrogen continues to increase, and the geographically diversified production footprint of these sites allows us to optimise supply chains, shorten transport distances and reduce transport-related emissions," Mohnen adds.

Lhyfe CEO and founder Matthieu Guesné says the support of Messer, with its more than 125 years of experience, sends a strong signal to the entire industry, confirming both the strength of Lhyfe's business model and the accelerating adoption of renewable hydrogen across industrial sectors.

"We share the conviction that renewable hydrogen is set to become one of the cornerstones of the new industrial energy mix. This agreement gives us the means to strengthen financial solidity, pursue our ambition and develop increasingly transformative and large-scale projects to accelerate Europe's decarbonisation."