The green hydrogen project of La Mède by TotalEnergies and Engie, tripled and shifted to 2026

"The partners are now aiming for a production capacity three times greater than initially envisaged, thanks to a 125 MW electrolyser (compared to 40 MW initially planned)," TotalEnergies was told.

“This resizing of the project requires additional studies and new infrastructure, which explains the slippage in the timetable and the date envisaged for the start-up to 2026 at the latest”, according to the same source.

TotalEnergies and Engie announced in early 2021 the signing of a cooperation agreement to develop and operate the largest site in France for the production of hydrogen from photovoltaic electricity, a project called "Masshylia".

According to the new dimensions of the project, the quantity produced of so-called "renewable and low carbon" hydrogen will reach 50 tonnes per day, against 5 to 15 tonnes per day initially announced.

The hydrogen will mainly be used to fully cover the needs of the agrofuel production process at La Mède, which according to TotalEnergies "will make it possible to avoid more than 100.000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. It will also be used at the margin as fuel for trucks, buses, maritime transport, etc.

The two partners were aiming for construction to begin in 2022 for production in 2024, subject to the necessary financial support and public authorizations.

Subsidy applications have been submitted to the French and European authorities.

Hydrogen can be produced by various processes. The electrolysis of water is however the option very widely favored by the players in the sector and which requires a lot of electricity and water.

According to the France Hydrogène association, France has reached so-called "renewable and low carbon" hydrogen production capacities of 13 MW in 2022. At the current rate of declared projects, the objective of the National Hydrogen Strategy established at 6.500 MW production in France by 2030 could be reached, or even exceeded, for a production potential of around 1,07 million tonnes, according to the association.