Supported by the Region and supported by successive recovery plans, the hydrogen sector continues to be structured in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. At the same time, decarbonization has become an issue, and a challenge, for economic policies, both at the national level and at the European level.
On September 29 and 30, 2021, Belfort hosted the first Hydrogen Business For Climate forum. The choice of this city owes nothing to chance. “This territory has a particular legitimacy. Since the first university work on fuel cells 25 years ago, a real ecosystem has been created here,” indicated Marie-Guite Dufray, president of the Region. Thus, the Region supports and supports several hydrogen projects. A hydrogen roadmap with €100 million over 10 years was also adopted in 2019. Added to this was €60 million in investments as part of the regional investment acceleration plan. Burgundy-Franche-Comté has been recognized as the leading region in France for the representation of the hydrogen value chain. Particular emphasis was placed on training and R&D. As a result, its attractiveness for hydrogen projects is very real.
Nathalie Loch, Hydrogen project manager at the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regional Economic Agency (AER), said: “Now we have gone through the tough stuff and we can see the repercussions.” This is true with Mincatec Energy which has established its R&D center in Belfort to develop, develop and test solid storage tanks for mobile and stationary applications. Belfort really attracts projects, such as that of H2SYS, a company which works on medium-power mobile and stationary hydrogen generators. The new 1,300 m production site2 was inaugurated in the Techn’hom business park. This arrival made Philippe Boucly, president of the France Hydrogène association, say: “H2SYS is the perfect example of the change of scale currently taking place in the hydrogen sector. » Belfort is also financing a hydrogen station and bus project, work on which is beginning with the support of Hynamics. Thus, seven hydrogen electric vehicles with a capacity of 90 people will be operational and will circulate in the Territoire de Belfort at the beginning of 2023.
Gigafactory
The Region also launched the “Transformation of an Industrial Territory” project in North Franche-Comté, which proposes to devote €69 million to industry 4.0 and the hydrogen economy. Its implementation made it possible to build lasting cooperation between urban areas, universities, innovative SMEs and industrial groups based in Sochaux, Montbéliard and Belfort. In addition, the construction of the future testing and certification center for ISTHY hydrogen storage systems, delayed due to the Covid pandemic, should be completed in Belfort during 2022. It is also in Belfort that McPhy, specialist in zero-carbon hydrogen production and distribution equipment, will install its future gigafactory electrolyzers. Finally, note the installation of Faurecia’s global center of expertise on hydrogen tanks in Bavans, near Montbéliard.
Nathalie Loch declared: “To have a robust and reliable ecosystem, our strategy is to have the most complete hydrogen value chain possible: from production to storage, distribution, mobile uses and stationary. There is a real consensus and good coordination between the Region’s policies, agencies and services, the Vehicle of the Future Center (which integrated hydrogen into its roadmap in 2005), businesses, training, the FC Lab (UAR/Research Support Unit) and the Hydrogen Energy Platform of Belfort, as well as the laboratories of the UFC (University of Franche-Comté) and the UTBM (University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard ) and structures like ADEME or BPI. The common objective is to offer real support to project leaders and businesses once they are there, some even being coached at start-up! »
Hydrogen trains
All these projects and all these achievements push a large number of French, but also foreign, companies to contact the AER of Burgundy-Franche-Comté to present these successes which are attracting interest. Thus, the start-up Mahytec, a leading company in the manufacturing of hydrogen storage tanks and cutting-edge renewable energy storage systems, was bought by the German Hensoldt, specialized in the production, storage, transport and conversion of hydrogen-based energy. The company, based in Dole in Jura, has developed highly innovative technologies for compressed storage with composite tanks and solid storage with metal hydrides. This acquisition will also allow it to strengthen its hydrogen-related activities in other areas such as heavy mobility and aeronautical applications.
With the Grand Est, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Burgundy-Franche-Comté is one of the four regions to have mandated the SNCF for an order for 14 regional trains. Its first three dual-mode electric-hydrogen systems represent an investment of €51.9 million. They will be delivered from 2023 for commercial operation in 2024, after validation of the tests. The first TER should run between Auxerre and Laroche-Migennes, a real SNCF hub. The announcement of this order was made in Auxerre, which is also one of the four hydrogen clusters in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté ecosystem.
In addition, it is in the capital of Lower Burgundy that the most powerful hydrogen station in France was built. With a capacity of 1 MW, AuxHYGen produces up to 400 kg of green hydrogen per day through the electrolysis of water. This is the first achievement in France by Hynamics, an EDF subsidiary specializing in hydrogen. This should make it possible to avoid the emission of 2,200 tonnes of CO2 every year. The station powers five Safra hydrogen buses operated by Transdev Auxerrois on the urban transport network. It will subsequently power the first dual-mode electric-hydrogen TERs developed by Alstom.
Dijon Métropole invests in green hydrogen
Dijon Métropole has launched a very ambitious €100 million green hydrogen project to reduce CO emissions2 public transport in the area. This project was launched in 2020 and should benefit from the local production of green hydrogen by electrolysis of water to power the first household waste bins as well as buses.
This project is based on a circular economy model. Green hydrogen will be produced locally with electricity provided by the energy recycling of waste from the collection of residents’ household waste and by the photovoltaic farm.
Dijon Métropole is also stepping up the pace and positioning itself well among the driving territories in terms of green hydrogen mobility on a national scale. Thus, by 2030, Dijon Métropole, recently selected for the European mission “100 climate neutral and intelligent cities”, must switch to hydrogen its entire fleet of heavy vehicles, i.e. 44 household waste bins. and 180 buses. Thanks to the capacities of the two green hydrogen stations, businesses and local authorities will be able to convert their own fleets, use green hydrogen and develop general public use of hydrogen vehicles.
In order to carry out this project, Dijon Métropole joined forces with the local group Colibri Énergie. This partnership will make it possible to develop a real production system, in particular by creating the Dijon Métropole Smart EnergHy joint venture. Storengy, a subsidiary of Engie and specialist in gas storage and the development of renewable gases, acquired a stake in its capital in January 2021.
Major projects in Franche-Comté
For its part, Franche-Comté has launched several major projects. In Doubs, the new Faurecia Clean Mobility factory has left the Mandeure site for the Technoland 2 industrial zone, in the Pays de Montbéliard. Thus, the technological leader in the automotive industry will produce hydrogen tanks for vehicles in a new 8,000 m factory2.
The Gaussin company, a Franche-Comté designer and manufacturer of mobility solutions, started the year perfectly thanks to its H2 Racing Truck, the world’s first hydrogen truck, which crossed the dunes during the famous Dakar race in Arabia. Saudi, in January.
Image credits above: © IDXPROD Severine Regnault.
