In France, green hydrogen pioneer Lhyfe has inaugurated its latest green and renewable hydrogen production site – Lhyfe Bretagne – in Buléon. The site is the first of its kind to be built in Brittany and one of the two largest in France, along with the Lhyfe Occitanie site.
Lhyfe Bretagne will mainly supply hydrogen for local transport and the industrial processes of regional companies. Lorient Agglomération will be the first urban community in Brittany to benefit from the hydrogen produced at the site.
The municipality of Buléon is extremely proud to be inaugurating Brittany’s first green and renewable hydrogen production site today. The hydrogen produced here will be delivered throughout the region, decarbonizing transport, and industry and contributing to Brittany’s energy autonomy, said Pierre Bouédo, Mayor of Buléon.
Lhyfe Bretagne is part of the VHyGO or Great West Hydrogen Valley project, supported by the Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).
The consortium made up of HyGO, GNVert, and Lhyfe was awarded a Global Performance Contract by the urban area of Lorient for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of two green and renewable hydrogen refueling stations.
Lhyfe Bretagne will supply green and renewable hydrogen for ten years.
Double kick-off for Lhyfe and the Region of Brittany
Two years after the opening of its first site in Pays de la Loire, and the recent launch of Lhyfe Occitanie, Lhyfe is confirming its promise of large-scale industrial deployment with five other sites already under construction or expansion across Europe.
These two new sites in Brittany and Occitanie – each with five times the production capacity of the initial site – meet the growing market demand for green and renewable hydrogen. Lhyfe aims to produce up to 80 tonnes a day by 2026.
This site also marks the start of Brittany’s hydrogen fuel chain, with Lorient Agglomération due to launch its first hydrogen-powered services in the first quarter of 2024.
Lorient Agglomération’s ambition is to accelerate its ecological, energy, and digital transitions, in particular by decarbonizing its land and sea transport. This transition is essential to achieve energy sobriety, and even sovereignty, for our area. The inauguration of this hydrogen production unit is part of the deployment of an integrated local renewable hydrogen chain, from production to use, including research and development, innovation, and training, said Fabrice Loher, President of Lorient Agglomération and Mayor of Lorient.
Producing clean fuel locally for the entire region
With an installed electrolysis capacity of 5 MWLhyfe will produce up to two tonnes of green and renewable hydrogen per day, or up to 575 tonnes per year from the site in Buléon (Morbihan), near the VSB Energies Nouvelles wind farm.
Two tonnes of hydrogen would enable a hydrogen truck to travel around 25,000 km, without emitting a single gram of carbon dioxide (CO2).
In addition to producing its hydrogen by electrolysis of water, Lhyfe also uses renewable electricity, resulting in hydrogen that is completely carbon-free. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) signed with renewable electricity producers, including VSB Energies Nouvelles, ensure the supply of power.
The central location of this site will enable Lhyfe to supply its customers throughout the Brittany region, as part of a short supply chain approach.
Developing a regional hydrogen in Brittany
Lhyfe Bretagne is part of the VHyGO or Great West Hydrogen Valley initiative, supported by local public and private stakeholders. VHyGO aims to build the first supraregional infrastructure for the production and distribution of green hydrogen in the west of France, to democratize this new energy carrier and decarbonise industry and transport.
Through this VHyGO initiative, Lhyfe Bretagne will supply two HyGO filling stations in the Lorient urban area – one at Lorient bus depot, which is due to be inaugurated in Q1 2024, and the other on the left bank of the River Scorff, which will cater for maritime uses.
Eventually, 19 buses – the first of which is also due to be delivered during Q1 2024 – and two passenger transport boats, known as Transrades, could be powered by this clean and local energy in the Lorient conurbation. These hydrogen-powered Transrades will be a first in France.
Lorient Agglomération is actively participating in ecological transition by renewing its public transport fleet.
It aims for its fleet to be made up entirely of clean vehicles in 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 with the migration of buses to biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable hydrogen, as well as maritime vessels with the arrival of hydrogen-powered boats.
The first seven hydrogen buses will soon be on the road and fuelled by the hydrogen production unit in Buléon. In parallel, ENSIBS, the South Brittany University National Engineering School has been offering France’s first apprenticeship engineering degree in “Energy and Hydrogen” since the start of the academic year, to better align the region’s training offer with the future needs of companies in the energy sector. By promoting innovation and building on the structuring of new strategic sectors such as renewable hydrogen, Lorient Agglomération is strengthening its position as a major economic player in Brittany, Fabrice Loher said.
Compact, modular industrial production format
In Buléon, like at the Lhyfe Occitanie site, the production unit has a new “containerized” format, which has the dual advantage of reducing the footprint of sites and promoting their scalability to support the development of hydrogen uses in the regions.
Lhyfe Bretagne – which occupies a site of around 6,800 sq.m – comprises a series of containerized buildings devoted to various functions (e.g. driver reception, control room, electrical conversion, water electrolysis, compression, quality control, etc.), a truck circulation area and loading bays for trucks transporting hydrogen to filling stations and various customers.
Our site in Buléon, the first green and renewable hydrogen production site to see the day in Brittany and one of the largest sites in France, will soon be able to come into service to decarbonize industry and mobility in the region. We are very proud to be working with our public and private partners to help build a new industry for the future in Brittany, and to offer local stakeholders a viable alternative to fossil fuels from 2024, said Matthieu Guesné, Founder and CEO of Lhyfe.
