France-headed green hydrogen producer Lhyfe has announced that it has obtained the construction permit for its second renewable hydrogen production site in the Morbihan region of Brittany, France, and is about to begin preparatory construction work. Lhyfe Bretagne, which is expected to be operational by the second half of 2023, will mainly supply hydrogen for transport in the region and the industrial processes of regional companies.
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Lhyfe Bretagne is part of the VHyGO or Great West Hydrogen Valley initiative which aims to build the first supraregional infrastructure for the production and distribution of green hydrogen in the west of France, to decarbonize industry and transport.
The consortium with 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.
The public transport operator Lorient Agglomération has already defined its green hydrogen needs and will be the first in Brittany to benefit from the hydrogen produced at the Lhyfe site with a ten-year offtake agreement.
VHyGO is supported by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).
The Great West Hydrogen Valley or VHyGO project, which aims to democratize access to green and renewable hydrogen in the west of France region, is a formidable vector for accelerating the sector. We are keen to participate, with our public and private partners, in the construction of a hydrogen-related industry in Morbihan and, more widely, in Brittany. Green and renewable hydrogen is now a reality. Many ecosystems are being structured nationally and in Europe, in which Lhyfe is actively involved, said Maud Augeai, Director of Territorial Development France at Lhyfe.
Start of large-scale deployment
According to Lhyfe, the announcement also marks the beginning of a long series of deployments for the company, which aims to have over 3 GW of installed capacity by 2030.
In Buléon, in the Morbihan region, Lhyfe will produce green hydrogen for local uses, by electrolysis of water using locally sourced resources and energy.
The company has secured a site adjacent to a wind farm. Now that the building permit has been granted, civil engineering work can begin at the end of February 2023, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of 2023.
Lhyfe Bretagne will have the capacity to produce up to 2 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per day (5 MW).
Its central location will enable Lhyfe to supply its customers across almost all of Brittany – within a radius of about 150 km – in keeping with its short supply chain philosophy.
We are proud to welcome the first green and renewable hydrogen production site in Brittany to Buléon. We are all the more proud as green and renewable hydrogen is just beginning to be deployed in France and throughout the world. The central location of Buléon will allow the whole region to gain energy independence and to pursue the transition that is needed and that our citizens expect from us, said Pierre Bouédo, Mayor of Buléon.
Decarbonizing mobility and industry
Under the VHyGO initiative, Lhyfe Bretagne will supply two refueling stations operated by HyGO in the Lorient area – one at the Lorient bus depot and the other, open to the public, on the left bank of the Scorff, for maritime purposes.
Lorient Agglomération is actively participating in the energy transition by renewing its fleet of public transport vehicles.
It aims for its fleet to be made up entirely of clean vehicles by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. 80 percent of the fleet will have bioCNG engines and 20 percent hydrogen fuel cell engines.
In 2023, Lorient Agglomération will accelerate its ecological and energy transition, via the decarbonization of its land and sea transport. This transition is necessary to achieve energy sobriety, and even sovereignty, for our area. This year will see the deployment of an integrated local renewable hydrogen chain, from production to use, including research and development, innovation, and training. The various building blocks of this new strategic sector are being put in place. Next autumn, the first seven hydrogen buses will be on the road and fuelled by the hydrogen production facility in Buléon, said Fabrice Loher, President of Lorient Agglomeration and Mayor of Lorient.
Eventually, 19 buses 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.
In parallel, ENSIBS, the South Brittany University National Engineering School, is launching the first engineering degree in France in the field of “Energy and Hydrogen” in apprenticeship mode, 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, ended Fabrice Loher.
