The deployment of hydrogen no longer only concerns professionals in the sector, but is becoming a real social issue. This guiding idea will guide the presentations and discussions of the 2022 edition of the Hydrogen Days in the Territories which will be held from July 5 to 7, at the Parc Expo in Rouen.
The Normandy application was selected by France Hydrogène to host in Rouen the unmissable event which brings together all the players in the hydrogen sector each year. After an edition with record participation in Dunkirk, elected officials from territories already involved in major projects, but also those who are starting their approach will come to share their experiences alongside industrial players who present their recent developments, achievements and innovative hydrogen solutions . The objective of these days: to encourage exchanges, create synergies, share good practices, identify replicable models, but also the obstacles that still remain to be overcome to accelerate deployment and achieve the objectives of the national hydrogen strategy.
Normandy and the Rouen metropolis, pioneering territories
Aware of the environmental and economic issues linked to its activities and the potential of hydrogen, the Normandy region has positioned itself in 2016 as a pioneering territory in the development of new uses of hydrogen through the EAS-HyMob project, a project which now allows us to benefit from nine public hydrogen recharging stations for light vehicles on a regional scale. Following on from the launch of this project, the Region adopted its Normandy Hydrogen plan in 2018, focusing on hydrogen as a vector of growth and reindustrialization, but also of decarbonization of territories in order to establish an economic sector that creates jobs .
For its part, the Rouen Normandy metropolis participates in the dynamic of ecological transition of the regional territory: a local COP21 mobilizing territory stakeholders towards a successful transition, a strong commitment to the Territory of Industry system, inclusion in the European partnership project UrbenPact, so many commitments which carry a strong ambition of decarbonization of mobility and that of becoming a “100% renewable energy” territory, from 2040. It is also the first to have committed to the regional EAS-HyMob program, by the installation of a hydrogen recharging station and the purchase of two vehicles, supported by the Region.
The Hydrogen Days will be an opportunity to return to three key themes:
How do we talk about hydrogen? An industrial, technological and environmental issue, hydrogen is set to enter the lives of citizens. This new positioning raises questions and preconceived ideas, which it is fundamental to clarify in order to promote the solutions that will be part of our future energy system.
How to move away from “all oil” using hydrogen? Hydrogen is a unique opportunity offered to us to change our energy model to decarbonize our economy.
Hydrogen, a question of sovereignty: if hydrogen makes it possible to massively decarbonize our economy, its development also carries a strong challenge of technological, industrial and energy sovereignty. In a very competitive international context, what are France’s assets to become a leader in carbon-free hydrogen?
