(Nantes / France) – Lhyfe SA has started construction of the “Lhyfe Occitanie” hydrogen production plant. The factory will be built in Bessières (Haute-Garonne), France, 40 kilometers from Toulouse, on an area of around 8.000 square meters.
Occitanie, France: The administrative region was created in 2016 through the merger of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions. © Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0)
The site has a production capacity of two tons of green hydrogen per day, which corresponds to a generation capacity of five megawatts. Production can be increased as hydrogen consumption and demand grows in the region.
The project was selected at the end of 2021 as part of a planned “H2 corridor”. The financing agreement was signed in November 2022. According to the information, “Lhyfe Occitanie” is 80 percent financed by the company itself. The remaining 20 percent is borne by the regional agency for energy and climate, AREC Occitanie.
The Occitanie region is providing 5,9 million euros, of which 4,1 million euros is a repayable advance and 1,89 million euros is a grant. Commissioning is scheduled for December 2023. According to the locations in Pays de la Loire (Bouin, Vendée) and in Brittany (Buléon, Morbihan) this is the third facility within a very short time.
Decarbonization of transport and industry
Two plants for the production of renewable hydrogen are scheduled to go into operation in the region by the end of 2024, initially with a total output of six tons per day. In addition, seven hydrogen filling stations are planned to be built to serve 40 trucks, 62 refrigerated trailers and 15 regional intercity buses converted to hydrogen power. Lhyfe Occitanie relies on a short supply chain and can deliver its hydrogen within a radius of 200 kilometers. The plant in Bessières is intended to supply trucks, buses and other fuel cell vehicles, particularly on the Albi-Toulouse route.
Part of the Trans-European Transport Network
The “H2 Occitanie Corridor” is part of the north-south axis of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and aims to decarbonize freight and passenger transport using hydrogen between the Mediterranean and the North Sea. The European Investment Bank is supporting the project with 40 million euros, and a further 14,6 million euros come from funding from the European Commission. The total investment is 110 million euros.
Photos
Lhyfe locations in the Pays de la Loire (Bouin, Vendée). © Lhyfe / Williarm Jezequel
