Sylfen is a startup developing a building-scale energy production solution. They generate electricity from solar panels and store the excess in the form of dihydrogen , which is then converted back into electricity by a reversible electrolyzer. Heat is produced during both operations.
Sylfen’s ambition: decarbonizing building energy
Sylfen’s project is based on a process for producing and storing intermittent electricity, and software for combining this process with the building’s electricity consumption and other sources of supply.
The process
The heart of the project is the reversible solid oxide electrolyzer technology developed by the CEA (probably a different one from the one Genvia is industrializing?). They call it the “RSOC energy processor”, RSOC for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells. Sylfen’s added value lies above all in the software solution that will be used to optimize the supply of multi-source energy with a smart building logic.
Sylfen’s ambition is to use hydrogen to decarbonize energy consumption in buildings:
- Electricity would be generated by solar panels on the roof.
- This electricity would be converted by high-temperature electrolysis into hydrogen, which would be stored, and heat, which would be used to heat the offices.
- As the device can also be used as a fuel cell, the stored hydrogen can then be converted back into electricity (and heat) when needed.
In this way, the supply of electricity from solar panels would be smoothed out: intermittency would be managed. What’s more, since we’re using aSOFC (Soft Oxide Fuel Cell), we can also use methane if there isn’t enough hydrogen.
A battery would also act as a buffer to limit power peaks, whether from solar panels or electricity consumption. Indeed, the electrolyzer/fuel cell has a certain inertia and limited power.
Overall, the startup claims a 50-75% reduction in CO2 emissions and “70-100%energy autonomy” for the building.
In terms of space, the RSOC modules would fit into a 1.2m x 2m high cabinet. The hydrogen tank would be located outside. (2) The system is called the Smart Energy Hub.
The importance of consulting
In 2020, consulting was one of the services offered by the company. (1) Even today, it’s at the heart of the service. In fact, the offer begins with a study of the building, its configuration, its consumption in detail “and integration into its local environment, to exploit possible synergies (parking, sharing of production or consumption, etc.)”. (https://sylfen.com/fr/offres/)
The eternal problem of intermittence
For anyone who has read the RTE report, the problem is obvious: is it profitable ? Indeed, the report tells us that the problem with using electrolysis to manage intermittency is that the electrolyser is under-utilized and, as a result, cannot cover its fixed costs. This raises the question of whether the electrolyser will operate sufficiently to be profitable. The answer may be that it’s also a fuel cell. But there’s already an electricity grid at the base… In short, we’d have to work out the equation, but we don’t have the figures.
The company’s added value is its software solution, but it gives little in the way of details of how it works. A case study would give us a better idea. Is there, for example, a fundamental difference with Panga? Does their technology carry a moat, a barrier that will protect them? Cogeneration is not really a specialty of the CEA alone. In Japan, it’s a widely used process with the ENE-Parc system: haven’t they already developed smart building applications like Sylfen’s?
Cogeneration technology is one of the most popular building technologies. Will Sylfen be the company to make it viable?
The Sylfen start-up
Sylfen was founded on June 5, 2015 in Grenoble by Nicolas BARDI and Caroline ROZAIN, joined in 2016 by Marc POTRON. The first demonstrator, named “SmartHyes”, for “Smart Hydrogen Energy System” was designed in May 2018 (3). In January 2018, the company joined the European Reflex project, coordinated by CEA-Liten, which aims to build a Smart Energy Hub with 3 modules, each with a power of up to 40kWe in electrolysis; to operate it for >8000h in 2020, on theEnvipark headquarters building; and to increase the power of the stacks to densify the system. (4)
The company produces its own electrolyzers on a 460m² industrial site in Le Cheylas (on the SLS Actiparc site), which it moved into in 2020 (5). The company targets businesses (offices, warehouses, large surface areas, etc.) and local authorities (administrations, gymnasiums, educational buildings, etc.).
In March 2022, the startup was awarded the Clean Tech Open prize by Thomas Lesueur, Commissioner General for Sustainable Development, on the premises of BPI France.
On May 10, 2022, Sylfen raised 10 million euros, bringing in Groupe IDEC, Supernova Invest, Elaïs Orium and Crédit Agricole Alpes Développement (C2AD) alongside its historical shareholders CEA Investissement and EIT InnoEnergy. The Idec Group comprises around twenty companies operating in the real estate sector.
It is registered at 266 Avenue de Savoie, 38 570 Le Cheylas, Grenoble, under Siren number 811828086. Its NAF code is 7112B – Engineering, technical studies.
Specific sources :
- (1) Sylfen’s move to BSmart, October 23, 2020, https://sylfen.com/fr/2020/10/23/passage-de-sylfen-sur-bsmart/
- (2) Tout comprendre sur Sylfen en 4′ chrono!, May 3, 2022, https://sylfen.com/fr/2022/05/03/tout-comprendre-sur-sylfen-en-424/
- (3) https://sylfen.com/fr/2018/05/22/avancees-techniques-majeures-avec-le-demonstrateur-smarthyes/
- (4) https://sylfen.com/fr/2018/05/22/le-projet-europeen-reflex/
- (5) https://sylfen.com/fr/2020/05/19/sylfen-change-d-echelle/