John Cockerill acquires McPhy’s assets to advance development of alkaline electrolyzers

July 14, 2025, by Aida Čučuk

Belgian technology company John Cockerill Hydrogen has acquired part of the assets of French energy company McPhy to accelerate the development of its new generation of pressurized alkaline electrolyzers.

McPhy announced in June 2025 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection with the Commercial Court of Belfort, and John Cockerill subsequently submitted a bid to acquire part of the company’s assets, including the Belfort site, its technologies and intellectual property, as well as 51 jobs in France.

On July 8, 2025, the Belfort Commercial Court approved the acquisition, John Cockerill revealed, adding that the decision “secures the continued operation of the Belfort Gigafactory, safeguards approximately 50 highly skilled jobs in France, supports the development of next-generation electrolysers, and ensures the continuity of a strategic technology sector vital to the energy transition.”

As disclosed, this new facility is expected to strengthen John Cockerill’s industrial footprint in France, particularly in hydrogen activities in Aspach and Belfort.

Nicolas de Coignac, CEO of John Cockerill Hydrogen, said: “This targeted acquisition preserves a strategic industrial asset and lays the groundwork for the next generation of electrolysers. By combining John Cockerill’s electrolysis cells with select innovative components from McPhy, the goal is to achieve a 10–15% competitive advantage over current models. Electrolysis is a key technology for decarbonizing heavy industry, making this a long-term endeavor. Such a project cannot rely on announcements alone—it requires stable, sustained, and independent industrial capacity. The acquisition of key McPhy assets marks a significant milestone in advancing this strategy.”

Cédric Perrin, Senator for the Belfort region and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces, commented: “The groundwork laid over the past few months by John Cockerill’s CEO and his teams has made it possible to save a strategic industrial asset that is particularly important to the Belfort region’s efforts to diversify into hydrogen. This acquisition of McPhy’s key assets by John Cockerill is excellent news, which has come to fruition after a long period of work by the company and elected officials. It is now important for the State to refine its hydrogen strategy in order to accelerate the energy transition and decarbonization.”

Damien Meslot, Mayor of Belfort and President of Greater Belfort, stated: “This announcement is excellent news for employees, for the hydrogen sector, and for the investments made in Greater Belfort. It will enable the Foussemagne gigafactory to continue manufacturing electrolysers as a Franco-Belgian company, thereby contributing to the sovereignty of the French green hydrogen sector and making Belfort a center of excellence in this field. With the backing of a Group the size of John Cockerill, the Foussemagne Gigafactory is stepping into a new dimension that will reassure customers and open up new markets. I am therefore fully satisfied with the proposed takeover solution. I now hope that the expected market and public support will develop to enable the sector to grow in France and Europe.”

In other 2025 news, it is worth mentioning that John Cockerill and Vietnam’s conglomerate Viettel Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for exploring long-term cooperation to develop a Vietnam-based manufacturing and supply chain for pressurized alkaline water electrolyzers for green hydrogen production. The companies reportedly aim to contribute to Vietnam’s energy transition objectives.