Introducing the FrHyGe project, Europe’s landmark initiative for underground hydrogen storage, spearheaded by Storengy – ENGIE and supported by 17 European partners.
On 20 March 2024, the European consortium met for the official launch of the FrHyGe* project, supported and funded by the European Union through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. This 43 M€ project aims to validate the underground storage of hydrogen in salt caverns on an industrial scale. The project will allow the deployment of an industrial demonstrator in Manosque, France, as well as the replication study on the Harsefeld site in Germany and more widely at a European scale.
FrHyGe Project: A Leap Towards Scalable Hydrogen Storage
The FrHyGe* initiative sets forth four primary goals:
– Conversion of a salt cavern, previously used for natural gas or brine, for hydrogen storage purposes.
– Demonstration of the capability to inject and extract 100 tonnes of hydrogen in cycles ranging from 1 hour to 1 week at Manosque’s converted site.
– Exploration of market penetration and value chain to facilitate replication in France, Germany, and other European locations.
– Comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts, safety standards, and regulatory considerations to support the GeoH2 (Manosque) and SaltHy (Harsefeld) projects’ implementation.
Storengy, alongside its consortium partners, will embark on a thorough exploration covering technical, economic, environmental, and safety aspects. The project aims to create a roadmap for expedited conversion and establishment of storage caverns, contributing significantly to the European hydrogen storage and transportation infrastructure.
With a generous budget of 43 million euros, bolstered by 20 million euros from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the FrHyGe project heralds a new era for renewable hydrogen storage development in Europe.
Timeline and Milestones
The project, initiated on 1 March 2024, spans several key phases:
– 2024 – 2025: Undertaking preparatory studies and analysis for the Manosque demonstrator and the technology’s replicability at the SaltHy site in Harsefeld, Germany.
– 2026 – 2027: Construction phase.
– 2027 – 2029: Execution of 100 injection and withdrawal cycles at two Manosque caverns, alongside studies on hydrogen’s behavior under varying pressures and validation against theoretical models.
Upon entering the commercial operation phase, the Manosque site is anticipated to house 6,000 tonnes of hydrogen, with plans for a 5,200-tonne storage capacity in Harsefeld.
This groundbreaking project, underpinned by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, represents a collaborative effort involving 17 European entities, with Storengy at the helm, charting the course for advanced underground hydrogen storage solutions.
“We are excited to kick-start the project FRHYGE which will demonstrate the feasibility of a smart and energy-efficient operation of a hydrogen underground storage facility in salt caverns in Manosque, France. Building on the findings of first demonstration project of Hypster in Etrez, both projects can be replicated to other sites and contribute to materialize the benefits of hydrogen technologies across the entire EU. The unique characteristics of the Manosque site will allow the FRHYGE project to take advantage of two neighbouring salt caverns to perform 100 storage cycles of hydrogen, thereby pushing the state of the art in underground hydrogen storage to an unprecedented level.” says Mirela Atanasiu, Executive Director ad interim of Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
Clean Hydrogen Partnership
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is supporting research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. It aims to accelerate the development of advanced clean hydrogen applications ready for market, across end-use sectors such as energy, transport, building and industry, while strengthening the competitiveness of the clean hydrogen value chain. The members of the partnership are the European Commission, fuel cell and hydrogen industries represented by Hydrogen Europe and the research community represented by Hydrogen Europe Research.
https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu
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