Hynomed aims to be a new company for the production and distribution of green hydrogen
Albert Perez, National & Southern Activities Director of ENGIE Solutions, Jacques Bianchi, President of the Var Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Richard Curnier, Regional Director of the Banque des Territoires en Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Yves Le Trionnaire, Regional Director of ADEME Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Yannick Chenevard, regional advisor representing the President of the South Region, kicked off SAS Hynomed on October 21, 2020 in Toulon. The ambition of this new company for the production and distribution of green hydrogen, a strategic step in the Hynovar * project, is to deploy a hydrogen ecosystem at the service of land and maritime mobility in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Hubert Falco,
Green hydrogen for sustainable mobility
SAS Hynomed can count on three solid shareholders: ENGIE Solutions (51%), CCI du Var (24.5%) and Banque des Territoires (24.5%): the alliance of expertise and the strengths of territory that will allow it to deploy, in the Var, two first stations for the production and distribution of green hydrogen.
To the west of the Toulon metropolis, the Brégaillon port site, home to a major maritime, land, and rail transport hub, is the place expected to host the first station. Technical studies and consultation with all stakeholders will have to confirm the final location. Flexible and adaptable, this first station will be designed to increase in capacity over the years. The operational calendar and the order deadlines make it possible to announce commissioning at the end of 2022.
On this date, the station will allow the fueling of 7 to 10 hydrogen buses in the metropolis, around 50 light commercial vehicles, and an innovative full hydrogen maritime shuttle with a capacity of 250 passengers, ordered by the Boatmen of the Côte d’Azur and designed by the regional startup HYSEAS.
This system will prevent the emission of around 1,675 tonnes of CO2 per year!
The development potential is significant with, in the medium term, supplying other uses such as port handling equipment, and the conversion of a large number of industrial and agricultural fleets. In the long term, boat buses, other land vehicles, as well as a rail service could consider turning to hydrogen to anchor the energy transition.
Make the Var a pioneering and exemplary “hydrogen territory”
By helping to develop a sustainable green hydrogen sector adapted to new forms of mobility, Hynomed intends to combine environmental benefits and public health by eliminating CO2 and fine particle emissions, which will improve air quality. “The creation of Hynomed is a further illustration of ENGIE Solutions’ commitment to support communities and users towards a carbon neutral economy. The development of green hydrogen meets this ambition ”specifies Albert Perez, National & Southern Activities Director of ENGIE Solutions.
With the deployment of Hynomed, the Var will not only benefit from this clean energy to revolutionize land and sea mobility but also produce it, which makes it a real hydrogen territory. “Hynomed is the first stone of the vast Hynovar project developed since 2016 to initiate a new virtuous sector, promising and providing jobs that cannot be relocated. The commitment of the CCI du Var in Hynomed reflects its will and its ability to mobilize all the actors and the economic fabric of the Var in the emergence of this vast hydrogen sector where there is so much to do sustainably ”, underlines Jacques Bianchi, Chairman. of the CCI of Var.
Hynomed is thus an ambitious, innovative and eco-responsible regional project. “By supporting Hynomed, the Banque des Territoires is showing its willingness to support carbon-free transport solutions for all public or private players, on land or at sea. The creation of Hynomed is an innovative project, a driver of economic dynamism and a pioneer future projects to come, and marks an important step forward for the hydrogen sector in the Region. This investment will make the Var region more sustainable and more attractive, ”says Richard Curnier, Regional Director of Banque des Territoires en Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Strongly invested in the Hynovar project, the South Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region and ADEME provide significant financial support of more than a third of the amount of operations, up to € 700,000 for the Operation of Regional Interest “Energies of tomorrow” and 6.45 million euros under the ADEME call for projects “Hydrogen Mobility Ecosystems”, including 4.20 million euros to support Hynomed in the establishment of electrolyser stations (1.65 million euros) and the development of land mobility (2.55 million euros). “ADEME’s support for the Hynovar project is part of the continuity of more than 15 years of research and development in the field of hydrogen. At ADEME, we support such projects to accelerate the energy transition and co-build a territorial ecosystem combining environmental sustainability and economic performance. Today, this is what Hynomed is helping to boost and bring to our region ”, explains Yves Le Trionnaire, Regional Director of ADEME in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
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