Global green hydrogen specialist Lhyfe and major French harbour Nantes – Saint Port have reached a partnership agreement to develop the offshore renewable sector.
The deal could ramp-up energy transition on the Loire Estuary and beyond with new technology for large-scale green hydrogen production facilities.
Carbon-free hydrogen coupled with offshore wind power will play an increasingly important role in the European energy mix.
Lhfye (EURONEXT: LHYFE) is one of the world’s pioneers in producing renewable green hydrogen by using water and wind or sun to power electrolysers.
It launched Sealhyfe, the world’s first offshore renewable hydrogen production pilot, in the Saint Nazaire dock basins at the end of September.
Sealhyfe will have a capacity of 1 MW and will be connected to a floating wind turbine.
Lhyfe already operates a renewable hydrogen production facility employing water electrolysis and plans similar onshore facilities across Europe.
The France-based multinational is also considering developing fixed or floating offshore renewable hydrogen production platforms.
It is ramping up research and development investments as close as possible to energy sources at sea.
By 2030-2035, the offshore sector could represent additional installed capacity of the order of 3 GW for Lhyfe.
Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port, France’s fourth largest seaport, is strongly committed to energy transition.
The Port Authority is focussing on the energy sources of tomorrow and is studying possible deployment scenarios for the hydrogen sector.
It aims to make Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire the first major port facility for hydrogen on France’s Atlantic Seaboard.
Under the deal, Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port and Lhyfe will combine their efforts and expertise to explore the establishment of an offshore hydrogen production supply chain.
The collaboration also aims to identify port areas and facilities capable of accommodating R&D prototypes, as well as the industrial requirements for the construction of equipment and supporting infrastructure needed for large-scale offshore hydrogen production.
The companies will also study how best to bring the renewable gas ashore and integrate it into the land-based network.
Matthieu Guesné, CEO and founder of Lhyfe, said:
“The development of offshore hydrogen production is the next major challenge awaiting us.
“Following the integration and inauguration of our Sealhyfe platform at the Saint Nazaire port facility, we are going to pursue our collaboration with this port facility, which possesses a great deal of related expertise, to accelerate the development of solutions that will make it possible to decarbonise mobility and industry on a massive scale, in all coastal regions.”
Olivier Trétout, Chair of the Management Board of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port, said:
“Over the course of several years now, energy transition has become a reality at the Port of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire.
“We are confronted by climate and energy challenges that require us to speed up our actions and to rapidly identify new solutions.
“Green hydrogen is a sector of the future in which we have great faith, as do many of the regional community’s industrial and institutional players.
“The Port of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire has the credentials to be a major port facility for the accommodation of that sector of activity.
“The partnership agreed with Lhyfe constitutes an essential first stage in the process of identifying the requirements for the large-scale deployment of renewable hydrogen production.”
