French green hydrogen developer Lhyfe has secured a permit to begin construction on a 5MW renewables project in Brittany, due to be commissioned in the second half of this year. Civil engineering is set to start at the end of February for the 6,800m² site in the Morbihan administrative region.

The project is expected to produce up to 2t/d of hydrogen using electrolysis powered by a windfarm adjacent to the site.

Lhyfe anticipates offtake primarily from local customers. As part of the Great West Hydrogen Valley initiative, the project will supply under a ten-year contract two refuelling stations operated by Hygo—founded by French firms Morbihan Energies and Engie Solutions in 2020—in the town and seaport of Lorient. These filling stations are expected to fuel up to 19 buses and two boats.

“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” Augeai, Lhyfe

“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 Buleon,” says Fabrice Loher, mayor of Lorient.

“The Great West Hydrogen Valley… which aims to democratise 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,” says Maud Augeai, director of French territorial development at Lhyfe.

Lhyfe launched its first 1MW French project, Sealhyfe, in September last year. The development will initially produce green hydrogen at a quay, before being relocated to an offshore testing area 20km off the coast of Le Croisic. Electrolysis will be powered by a floating wind turbine at the test site.

EU boost

The recent publication of the European Commission’s delegated act defining renewable hydrogen has been seen as a boost for France. While previous drafts allowed grid power to be used for green hydrogen production only if it was run using more than 90pc renewable energy, the final draft now allows for grid-powered electrolysis if its carbon intensity is below 18g of CO₂e/MJ if a power-purchase agreement is signed for equivalent renewables capacity.

This could allow projects in France—which has renewables supply well below 90pc but a high proportion of nuclear power—to circumvent challenges around temporal correlation that the industry has warned may inflate the cost of production.

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Author: Polly Martin