Green H2 firm Lhyfe and AREC Occitanie, the regional agency for energy and climate, have announced that construction is starting on the Lhyfe Occitanie production facility, located in Bessières (Haute-Garonne) in Southern France.
The plant, which should be operational by the end of 2023, is one of the levers of the Occitanie region for achieving the goals of its Occitanie H2 Corridor project aimed at decarbonizing goods and passenger transport, according to the developer.
The company has said that the facility will have the capacity to produce 2 tonnes of green hydrogen per day, equivalent to a generating capacity of 5 MW, with the possibility to ramp up production to meet growth in hydrogen uses and needs in the region.
The Occitanie plant is Lhyfe's third green H2 production site, the other two being in Pays de la Loire and in Brittany facilities. The facility is part of the Occitanie H2 Corridor scheme, and the region is said to be providing €5.9 million to support the site's creation, including €4.1 million as a repayable advance and €1.89 million in grants.
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Maud Augeai, Head of Territorial Development France at Lhyfe, commented on the development, "Lhyfe Occitanie will be our first achievement in the South of France. We are fully focused on its realisation in order to deliver the first kilos of green and renewable hydrogen from the end of 2023, and enable the transportation of tonnes of goods and thousands of people in the region without emitting CO2. As our plant is modular and scalable, it will adapt to the growth in uses in the coming months and years. Maxime Bourdillat, our Head of Development for South West France, now has an ear to the ground to identify mobility and industry market needs."
The Occitanie H2 Corridor is part of the North–South European hydrogen corridor project, which aims to decarbonise goods and passenger transport on an axis running between the Mediterranean and the North Sea.
Christian Assaf, President, AREC, said, "Occitanie has a head start on hydrogen. We know it and want to drive this potential by involving all communities and local enterprises in the regional dynamic. That is what we are doing today with Lhyfe which will help to confirm our position as a leader in renewable hydrogen and accelerate the decarbonisation of heavy mobility."
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The aim of the region for the Occitanie H2 Corridor is to have two renewable hydrogen production facilities by the end of 2024, representing a total of six tonnes of output a day to start, seven hydrogen fuel stations (delivering 600 to 1,200 kg a day), 40 hydrogen-powered trucks, 62 refrigerated trailers/units, and 15 regional interurban buses retrofit to run on hydrogen.
Lhyfe claims that the site will also meet the green hydrogen needs of industries, transport or logistics providers and local authorities in the area wishing to decarbonize their mobility. It claims to promote a short supply chain logic with energy produced and consumed locally, and can deliver its hydrogen within a radius of 200 kilometres.