French research in battle for the green hydrogen race

The public body launched a dedicated federation on Tuesday, bringing together 270 scientists, in order to structure their work on this non-polluting and very energy-intensive molecule, explain researchers Olivier Joubert and Daniel Hissel, at its head. Mission: fundamental but also applied research, to support manufacturers.

QUESTION: Why create a Hydrogen Research Federation (FRH2) at the CNRS?

OLIVIER JOUBERT: "For 20 years, the CNRS has structured research in this sector in France via a + club + bringing together the main players. But seeing the enthusiasm for hydrogen, the CNRS said that it had to improve its own visibility.

The French hydrogen research landscape is the CNRS with its university partners and the CEA, which cover nearly 80% of academic players, and the industrial community: we have three clearly visible pillars.

In the current alignment of the planets, and industrialists pushing, we saw the appearance of the Hydrogen plan of France, devoted for about 1% to research, or about 80 million over the next 5 to 7 years, and we are very happy ".

DANIEL HISEL: "This plan represents above all an impulse from the government which says 'let's go'. Of course the amounts are still insufficient, but they will be completed, and we are counting on the trickle-down effect of partnership projects, which we are already carrying out with industrial ".

Q: 96% of the hydrogen produced today comes from an energy intensive transformation process based on coal or gas. "Green" hydrogen, obtained with renewable electricity, is much more expensive. What are the research priorities and avenues? What horizons?

O.J.: "The first priority is to replace with 'green' hydrogen the 'gray' currently used by industries such as petrochemicals, ammonia production ... For this, electrolysers must be produced. The second is to develop the Hydrogen electric mobility for heavy mobility, because it allows rapid filling, long autonomy, limited weight.

Research is aligned with this. The objective is to improve the performance, robustness and service life of electrolysers, and thereby reduce costs: manufacturing, material (for example, replacing the platinum of an electrolyser with a less expensive material), process automation ... The same goes for fuel cells.

We cover a very wide range, from material research to system testing. "

DH: "We are continuing to work on disruptive subjects, but it is also a question of supporting the industrial fabric.

The change has in fact already taken place: since 2002-3, the price of fuel cells has been divided by 50, and performance improved accordingly. There is still a second break to make to make them even more competitive, but the acceleration has increased over the past 2-3 years ".

O.J.: "And the Hydrogen recovery plan should make it possible to improve all of this within 5 years".

Q: How is French research positioned worldwide?

DH: "French research is at the state of the art worldwide, in the leading pack. The number of foreign researchers we receive allows us to judge."

O.J.: "Germany has several large research centers, but no federative structure".

DH: "The competition for hydrogen is global. China is investing in certain applications, in particular heavy mobility. We are in a race on a global scale! But the stakes are not made, unlike in other areas such as photovoltaics.

The main thing is not to stop at good ideas, but to apply them from an industrial point of view and in our territories. It is the year of the Covid but also of hydrogen, and the two converge on the need for relocation and an industrial revitalization of our territories. What has changed is the awareness of the political world, and on questions like this, it is fundamental ".