Elogen, which was acquired by GTT from Areva in 2020, will produce high-capacity electrolyzers in its gigafactory from Vendôme, in Loir-et-Cher. Activities are expected to begin in 2025.
The Territoires Vendômois community sold nine hectares of land to the French start-up Elogen, formerly Areva H2Gen. This is where Elogen will build his gigafactory of 20,000 m² for the production of high capacity electrolysers. Jean-Baptiste Choimet, general manager of Elogen, indicated that he wanted to quickly target 1 GW per year.
Elogen is a subsidiary of the gas engineer Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT). The investment would amount to more than 50 million euros.
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, made the announcement while visiting the Air Liquide site dedicated to green hydrogen. Bruno Le Maire thus unveiled the first 15 projects of the hydrogen component of France Relance, endowed with seven billion euros.
Elogen has already been manufacturing electrolysers since last January, on its site in Les Ulis, in Essonne. Vendôme will therefore be the second production unit with the equivalent of 160 MW, or “the largest production capacity on French territory”, indicated Jean-Baptiste Choimet. In addition, public funds will help Elogen to strengthen its R&D department in Essonne.
Pascal Brindeau, UDI deputy for the constituency and former mayor of Vendôme, reacted: “This validates our strategy of providing turnkey industrial land. »
Elogen also signed contracts with the German energy company Eon and the French Storengy for the HyPSTER project, a 1 MW electrolyser.
Catalytic methanization: an innovative technological process
Elogen is present in four major sectors: mobility, with the production of electrolysers and the supply of hydrogen stations; THE power-to-gaswith the injection of the hydrogen produced into the transport network and the manufacture of synthetic methane which replaces fossil gas; energy storage, with suitable systems in island areas powered by intermittent renewable sources; industry, with high-performance electrolysis systems in terms of efficiency, energy conversion and profitability.
Elogen was recently selected by Storengy as part of the construction of a methanization unit developed for the Pau Béarn Pyrénées Urban Community.
The production of synthetic methane will be carried out using an innovative technological process of catalytic methanization. This process will transform all of the carbon dioxide emitted by the methanization unit present on the site into synthetic methane, thanks to the use of hydrogen produced by the Elogen electrolyser.
The project, developed by the Pau Béarn Pyrénées Urban Community, will make it possible to produce 10 energies and resources from Lescar wastewater, and is part of the objective it has set itself to achieve. carbon neutrality by 2040.
