A dream that is already partly a reality, as several carmakers such as Hyundai and Toyota are already producing models based on this principle. The downside to this idyllic picture?
Hydrogen production still relies heavily on the gas industry, so the overall ecological footprint is not all that positive.
Producing truly clean hydrogen using renewable energies
With this in mind, Matthieu Guesné, an ESEO engineer and former director of the marine energy research centre at CEA Tech Pays de Loire, set up the start-up Lhyfe. Its aim is to develop ” green ” hydrogen, using water electrolysis and renewable energies.
By using wind power, Lhyfe frees itself from the need to use the electricity grid and fossil fuels. With a team of 15 people, the start-up raised €8 million in 2019 and is currently building its factory in the Pays de la Loire region. Within a year, the company plans to be producing 300 kg of hydrogen a day, rising to 900 kg a day by 2023.
A business model to consolidate for sustainable development
The business model still needs to be validated on a large scale: in order to amortise the investment, the electrolysers need to operate for 3,000 to 6,000 hours a year. To achieve this, the start-up aims to move its onshore plant model out to sea, using offshore wind turbines to take advantage of the stronger, more regular wind.
At a time when China has made clean energy and fuel cell cars its priority objectives, the Nantes-based start-up is at the forefront of French research in this forward-looking field. Further proof that ESEO engineers know how to ” work in the present, as if coming back from the future “
