France’s Lhyfe is looking to construct a 12-tonne-per-day green hydrogen production unit which could supply a local stainless steel producer and future Winter Olympic transport operations.
Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiss Steel Group subsidiary UGITECH, Lhyfe will explore developing a maximum 30MW green hydrogen production unit near the firm’s Ugine site in France.
Green hydrogen produced by the unit in the heart of the French Alps will be used to cut the emissions of the stainless steel maker’s operations. Lhyfe has said hydrogen would mainly be supplied to UGITECH via pipeline.
Currently producing 200,000 tonnes of steel per year, the use of green hydrogen which would partially replace natural gas in thermoprocessing equipment (burners, reheating furnaces, and heat treatment furnaces), could cut 16,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
“The steel sector is a major consumer of fossil fuels and is one of the industrial sectors that should be decarbonised as a priority,” said Philippe Desorme, Vice CEO at Lhyfe.
“The energy transition is going to become increasingly necessary to ensure the long-term survival of our industries, and green hydrogen is emerging as one of the pillars of this transition. It can and must now be deployed as quickly as possible, including in the steel sector.”
The French Alps are set to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Lhyfe has also earmarked the Ugine green hydrogen site as a way to help develop the local hydrogen mobility ecosystem, particularly in the run-up to the games.
Hydrogen’s Olympic legacy has continued to grow. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics saw 212 hydrogen fuel cell buses used to shuttle spectators. This summer’s (2024) Olympics in Paris will see several hundred Toyota Miraris become the official vehicles of the Games.
Read more: Air Liquide to fuel Paris 2024’s hydrogen-powered transport
Lhyfe and UGITECH have said they are set to undertake a feasibility study for the project, with the plant’s implementation subject to its conclusions, granting of operating licenses, building permits and financial investment decision.
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