France’s Total and Engie have teamed up to build the country’s first green hydrogen project at an oil refinery, the companies said on Wednesday.

The two energy firms have agreed to build a solar-powered 40MW electrolyser that will produce 5t of hydrogen a day to supply Total’s La Mede biorefinery in southern France.

“There are several green hydrogen projects underway in France, but this is the first one linked to a refinery,” an Engie spokesman tells Hydrogen Economist.

The electrolyser will have the capacity to produce 15t of hydrogen per day and will be powered by an adjoining solar PV with a capacity of more than 100MW. This leaves room for project expansion to introduce further renewable electricity production and to add other hydrogen offtakers. Construction on the first phase of the project will start next year, with first production expected in 2024.

“[This project] paves the way for a multi-usage renewable hydrogen hub in the near future” Avice-Huet, Engie

The so-called Masshylia project will include a storage system using hydrogen that will help balance the intermittency of electricity production from the solar plant. “[This project] paves the way for a multi-usage renewable hydrogen hub in the near future, strongly rooted in the region and with an international outreach," says Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Engie’s executive vice president in charge of renewable energies.

For oil giant Total, the project presents an opportunity to further decarbonise some of its carbon-intensive refining business as it has committed to becoming a net-zero emissions company by 2050. The oil major is involved in several hydrogen projects in Europe, including providing hydrogen refuelling stations for transport in Germany, and last year established a business unit dedicated to clean hydrogen.

France has an ambitious hydrogen strategy which targets 6.5GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, supported by €7bn of public funding for research and to support setting up first projects.

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Author: Karolin Schaps