ArianeGroup and Fives pave the way for future hydrogen mobility

ArianeGroup, an industrial leader in civil and military space launchers, and Fives, an international leader in industrial engineering, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development and marketing of liquid hydrogen cryogenic pumps, to support future mobility.

Through their industrial partnership, Fives and ArianeGroup will aim to supply new cryogenic pumps designed for the use of liquid hydrogen in heavy land and maritime mobility.

An alliance of two technology leaders

Liquid hydrogen is a key fuel for decarbonising heavy-duty mobility (e.g., trucks, ferries, freighters, etc.). However, its properties make it complex to transport and handle, and so far, there is no market solution capable of transporting liquid hydrogen reliably and efficiently.

Today, the pooling of ArianeGroup’s unique know-how developed through 40 years of experience in liquid hydrogen propulsion systems and Fives’ leading technological and industrial cryogenics expertise will help to overcome this major obstacle. Fives and ArianeGroup will design a specific range of pumps to facilitate the transport and large-scale use of liquid hydrogen throughout the distribution chain, from production facilities to filling stations and on to vehicle tanks and propulsion systems.

Antonin Ferri, Head of Future Programmes at ArianeGroup:

“ArianeGroup and Fives have truly complementary perspectives and skills. This partnership holds great technological and economic promise. I am delighted that technologies originally developed for the Ariane launcher can today support energy and environmental transition on Earth, by creating an opportunity for decarbonising heavy mobility.”

Frédéric Thrum, Deputy General Manager at Fives and President of the Energy Division:

“We are proud to be teaming up with ArianeGroup, a partner for over 40 years, to find a solution to one of the major technological obstacles to sustainable mobility. I have no doubt that by combining our 65-year world-leading expertise in cryogenics with ArianeGroup’s unique expertise in liquid hydrogen, we will meet the challenges of decarbonised mobility.”