France-headed energy utility major ENGIE SA has inaugurated the first alternative multi-fuel station in France. Located in the heart of the International Market of Rungis, this station will power a fleet of 50 hydrogen-powered Renault Kangoo Z.E. utility vehicles, recently made available for long-term rental through Alphabet, a leader in mobility solutions for companies.
These vehicles will be used by ENGIE’s energy and environmental efficiency service subsidiary, ENGIE Cofely technicians to ensure multi-technical operations and maintenance work for commercial buildings in the Ile-de-France. Equipped with extended hydrogen autonomy systems by Symbio, the leading European outfitter for hydrogen mobility solutions, these electric vehicles neither produce particles nor gas emissions and are further enhanced with a reduced recharge time and greater autonomy.
This station has a provisional refuelling capacity of 20 kg per day in hydrogen but should increase rapidly to 80 kg per day. According to ENGIE, this scale corresponds to the immediate needs of current vehicles in the south of Paris. The definitive installation will produce renewable hydrogen on site with an electrolyser powered solely by renewable energy.
The hydrogen station is designed, manufactured and integrated by McPhy, a leader in production, storage and hydrogen distribution equipment that serves the energy transition.
The whole project has been given financial support from the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).
With a stream of more than 25 000 vehicles per day, the Rungis Market, which offers free motorway toll to all clean vehicles that use the station for refuelling, is a strategic location for the development of green mobility for freight transport in Ile-de-France. Through its subsidiary GNVert, ENGIE owns more than 150 alternative fuel stations in France.
As the quality of air is a major public health issue, accelerating the development of green mobility is even more important given that the transport sector is responsible for 35 percent of the carbon emissions in France. ENGIE says that it is positioning itself as a forerunner in this development and the Group is developing solutions that cover the full range of green mobility technologies.
