Lhyfe, a global renewable hydrogen company, has partnered with AREC Occitanie, a regional energy and climate agency, to construct a new production plant in Bessières, southern France. The facility will be operational by the end of 2023 and will support the Occitanie region's goal of reducing carbon emissions from transportation. The plant will be situated on approximately 8,000 square metres of land within the Triangle business park in Bessières and will be Lhyfe's third production site. Lhyfe will fund 80 per cent of the project, while AREC Occitanie will fund the remaining 20 per cent. Construction work has just begun and commissioning is due in December 2023.
The Lhyfe Occitanie plant will produce two tonnes of green and renewable hydrogen per day, with the possibility to increase production to meet growing demand in the region. The Occitanie H2 Corridor, part of the North-South European hydrogen corridor initiative, aims to decarbonise passenger and goods transportation along an axis extending from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. The Lhyfe Occitanie plant will support this goal by supplying green and renewable hydrogen to trucks, coaches, and other fuel cell vehicles, particularly on the Albi-Toulouse route.
The Occitanie Region aims to have two renewable hydrogen production facilities by the end of 2024, producing a total of six tonnes of output per day, as well as seven hydrogen fuel stations. Lhyfe Occitanie could also supply the necessary refuelling stations that will be built in the region. In addition to transportation, the plant will fulfil the demand for green and renewable hydrogen in industries such as aeronautics, equipment manufacturing, logistics providers, and local authorities interested in decarbonising their mobility and/or processes.
Lhyfe Occitanie supports a short supply chain concept by generating and consuming energy locally, and can provide its hydrogen within a 200-kilometre radius. Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie region, said, “Making green hydrogen one of the energies of the future in Occitanie, is the choice we made in 2019 in adopting a dedicated plan. Today, one of the biggest challenges of energy transition is heavy mobility. That is why the Region has initiated the Occitanie H2 Corridor project, integrating industry and mobility on a European level. I am proud that this project is being developed here in Occitanie and that Lhyfe is contributing to decarbonisation at the heart of our communities.”
