Inauguration of the first hydrogen station in the Clermont-Ferrand metropole, second station in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. A new illustration of Michelin’s commitment to accelerating sustainable mobility.
- 20 stations, including the first one for the Clermont-Ferrand metropole, inaugurated on September 6
- 15 electrolyzers to produce the hydrogen; and the deployment of a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for professionals: the Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) project aims to make Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes the top European hydrogen region by 2023.
With 80% of France’s hydrogen sector players located in its territory, the region has committed to hydrogen alongside Michelin and Engie. Behind this commitment is the company Hympulsion, a joint venture between several public partners—the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Banque des Territoires— and private partners—the Michelin Group, ENGIE, and Crédit Agricole. Hympulsion is responsible for deploying and installing the electrolysers and the hydrogen distribution stations.
Sonia Artinian-Fredou, Executive Vice-President, of Business, Services and Solutions, High-Tech Materials — Member of the Michelin Group Executive
“Sustainable mobility, not just for Michelin, but for everyone, is mobility that is safe, good for the environment, effective, and accessible to all. Hydrogen mobility, whose development we want to accelerate, is an important part of the solution. We are convinced that hydrogen technology will play a key role in the massive development of electric vehicles, and therefore “zero-emission mobility.” Michelin has been involved in research and development into fuel cells for the past 15 years, and is now a leader in hydrogen technology.”
Thanks to the R&D expertise in hydrogen fuel cells that Michelin has developed over the past 15 years, we have obtained credibility and legitimacy in this field. In addition to being a hydrogen mobility operator, Michelin wants to become a global leader in hydrogen systems. To that end, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Faurecia last March to create a joint venture around Symbio (“Symbio, a Faurecia Michelin hydrogen company”), with the goal of becoming a global leader in this field.
DID YOU KNOW?
By 2030, 1.2 million fuel cell vehicles may circulate in Europe. Japan and China are aiming for 800,000 and 1 million hydrogen vehicles, respectively.
HYDROGEN’S VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
This energy, which should be produced mainly through water electrolysis, is part of a virtuous circle that addresses the environmental challenges faced by the transport sector, which is responsible for 23% of global CO2 emissions.
Hydrogen has emerged as a clean and competitive fuel that can help decarbonize transport. It offers fuel cell vehicles a greater range and fast recharging times. They will be able to cover distances comparable to those of combustion engine vehicles, and will only take about 3 to 5 minutes to recharge, releasing only water.
Source: Michelin
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