HYPORT: Green hydrogen takes off

A new step has just been taken for the Hyport project: the signing of the agreement for the construction of the 1st green hydrogen station at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Being a world first, the Hyport project is a large-scale strategic territorial project of France’s Occitanie Region for the deployment of hydrogen recharging infrastructures, in which Tractebel is involved since 2017.

This agreement, signed by AREC Occitanie, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport and ENGIE Solutions, is the first brick of the Hyport project. By supplying hydrogen to both public areas (shuttle buses, taxis, utilities) and tarmac areas (shuttle buses, Safran's "PIPAA" project to supply electricity to aircraft on the ground), the project is supported by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and the European JIVE II program. 

In the wake of its Hydrogen Plan, announced in 2019, providing for €150 million in investments over the period 2019-2030, the Occitanie Region confirms its desire to become the leading positive energy region in Europe, a region resolutely turned towards a carbon-neutral transition in which hydrogen is a key link.

Tractebel, a partner from the start of the project

Our French teams have been supporting the key players in this project since its launch in 2017. In 2018, regional feasibility studies were conducted to define the technical, economic and commercial conditions for the deployment of a hydrogen ecosystem. Tractebel was involved in the definition and design of hydrogen infrastructures, the choice and evaluation of technologies, supplier consultations, implementation and integration studies, regulatory and safety studies, as well as CAPEX/OPEX costing of infrastructures and works.

At the end of this study, the company HYPORT S.A.S, in which ENGIE Solutions and the Regional Agency for Energy and Climate in Occitanie (AREC) are co-shareholders, was created with the objective of spearheading the development of hydrogen ecosystems on a regional scale.

Expertise, confidence and agility, Tractebel supports operational implementation

Afin de concrétiser sur le terrain l’ambition régionale, Tractebel accompagne HYPORT depuis 2019 en tant que

In order to make the regional ambition a reality on the ground, Tractebel has been supporting HYPORT since 2019 for the construction of this station for the production by electrolysis, distribution and export of renewable hydrogen, as well as for the development and integration works on the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport site.

Tractebel is mobilising its in-depth expertise in electrolysis, industrial safety and complex project management to meet the challenges of integrating such a system in an airport environment.

This first station in the HYPORT network, and certainly the most emblematic, is intended to supply light and heavy mobility uses, as well as, in the long term, industrial uses, at 200, 350 and 700 bar.

"We are proud to see this project come to fruition. Our experts have demonstrated our ability to provide long-term support to clients in their decision making, in a constrained environment and for a developing market. Many challenges have been successfully met to meet the needs of our customers on this pioneering hydrogen initiative in France and Europe." J. Foglia, Hydrogen Project Manager at Tractebel in France

 

Key figures:

• 4 hydrogen buses operated by Transdev at Toulouse-Blagnac airport (public zone and tarmac zone)
• 1 electrolyser of 330 kg/d
• 2 distribution stations, respectively in the public and tarmac zones
• Commissioning mid 2021
• 100% renewable energy from the local network
• Nearly 200 vehicles to be powered by green hydrogen in the long term
• Renewable hydrogen supply for Safran's "PIPAA" project: an R&D program to validate the use of hydrogen-powered electric generators on board aircraft for ground use, replacing current thermal solutions.