Starting point for the construction of the first green hydrogen station at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, at the heart of a pioneering project for the Occitanie Region
Philippe Crébassa, President of Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, Thierry Cotelle, President of AREC Occitanie and Julien Chauvet, President of HYPORT and Hydrogen France Director of ENGIE Solutions, has just signed the framework collaboration agreement for the construction of the first green hydrogen station at the heart of Toulouse-Blagnac airport. This new step marks the first deployment of the HYPORT company, which carries the strategy intended to integrate hydrogen into the economic and environmental roadmap of the Region. All the lights are, therefore “green” to make the Occitania Region the first positive energy region in Europe and move forward in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
A vast ecosystem serving industry and green mobility
Through the signing of the framework agreement, Toulouse-Blagnac airport is today the first airport site to finalize the establishment of green hydrogen production and distribution station, which will supply four buses providing transport of passengers.
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport provides HYPORT with a 2,600 m² site, in a strategic site in the immediate vicinity of a runway and road access area, serving airport and logistics uses. Toulouse city center. Through the signing of the framework agreement and by becoming HYPORT’s first client, the airport confirms its commitment to “zero carbon emissions” in 2050 of the European Net Zero program of ACI Europe.
This station, whose construction will start this year, will ensure the supply of green hydrogen for not only mobility (buses intended to transport passengers between the terminal and planes and remote parking lots, light commercial vehicles, fleets captives, etc.) but also aeronautical and industrial applications. Located on the tarmac and in a public area, the station will be intended for all potential users, individuals or professionals.
The will to integrate into the regional fabric electric vehicles running on hydrogen thanks to fuel cells is at the heart of this pioneering project.
HYPORT will finance, build and operate infrastructure for the production and distribution of renewable hydrogen.
A major project to accelerate the region’s energy transition
HYPORT, a 51% subsidiary of ENGIE Solutions and 49% of the Regional Agency for Energy and Climate Occitania (AREC), has been working since 2016 with all public and private actors to build a dense ecosystem allowing deploy the production, distribution and uses of green hydrogen in the heart of an exemplary region in this area.
The HYPORT project aims to deploy green hydrogen infrastructure in the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée region for mobility, industry and / or logistics uses, and aims to support the region’s environmental strategy.
Aiming at the structuring of a new industry with high added value and creating jobs, HYPORT was selected among the winners of the National Hydrogen Territories Call for Projects in November 2016. On June 27, 2019, the Occitanie region adopted a Green Hydrogen Plan of € 150 million over 10 years, thus clearly showing its ambition to become the French leader in green hydrogen.
The HYPORT project in Toulouse has received solid support from the Occitania Region, ADEME and Europe through the JIVE2 program, necessary in order to make hydrogen solutions competitive for users, with regard to thermal solutions or classic carbonaceous:
– ADEME, through the Call for projects “H2 mobility ecosystems”, of which HYPORT was the first winner in early 2019; through aid of € 5.250 million, ADEME supports part of the investments relating to hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure as well as part of the additional costs of hydrogen vehicles;
– the FCH-JU and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework JIVE 2 project, aimed at the deployment of 152 new buses and zero-emission fuel cell infrastructures in European countries.
– from the Occitanie Region, as part of its Green Hydrogen Plan.
Thanks to this support from the Occitanie region, the hydrogen buses supplied by the regional company SAFRA, a French hydrogen bus manufacturer based in Albi, will be made available to Toulouse-Blagnac airport by Transdev Occitanie.
“By hosting a hydrogen production and distribution station, Toulouse-Blagnac airport confirms its desire to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and improve the air quality on the platform,” says Philippe Crébassa, Chairman of the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport Management Board. This project illustrates our desire to ensure a reasoned and sustainable development of our activity. ”
About HYPORT
Translating the desire of the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée region to integrate hydrogen into its energy transition, HYPORT proposes to develop infrastructure for the production and distribution of renewable hydrogen, particularly around airport ecosystems.
HYPORT is a company owned 51% by ENGIE Solutions and 49% by the Regional Agency for Energy and Climate Occitania.
In order to support the deployment of the first five hydrogen buses (including four at Toulouse-Blagnac airport) and initiate green and low-carbon mobility on the territory, HYPORT requested, for this project:
– national funds through the ADEME “Hydrogen Mobility Ecosystems” Call for Projects, and the Occitanie Hydrogen Plan deployed by the Region;
– European funds through the JIVE 2 project (Joint Initiative for hydrogen Vehicles across Europe), supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, by Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
