Press release
Paris, 21 March 2024
Launch of the FrHyGe project, an underground hydrogen storage demonstrator,
supported by 17 European partners and coordinated by Storengy
On 20 March 2024, the European consortium met for the official launch of the FrHyGe* project, supported and subsidised by the European Union via the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. The aim of this €43 million project is to validate the underground storage of hydrogen in saline cavities on an industrial scale. The FrHyGe project will set up a demonstrator at the Manosque underground storage site and study the replicability of this technology at the Harsefeld site in Germany and more widely across Europe.
*FrHyGE :
Full qualification in France of large-scale HYdrogen underground storage and replication from Germany to all European countries
A large-scale demonstrator for underground hydrogen storage in Europe
The FrHyGe project has 4 objectives:
- Converting a salt cavern into natural gas (or brine) for hydrogen storage,
- Demonstrate the feasibility of injecting and withdrawing 100 tonnes of hydrogen over cycles ranging from 1 hour to 1 week in the converted caverns at the Manosque site,
- Study market penetration and the value chain, and prepare for replication at other sites in France and Germany, and then on a European scale,
- Assessing the environmental impact, safety and regulations to prepare for deployment on the GeoH2 (Manosque) and SaltHy (Harsefeld) projects.
As part of the FrHyGe project, Storengy, the project coordinator, and its partners will carry out technical, economic, regulatory, environmental and safety studies. They will draw up a roadmap for deploying the conversion process and the creation of salt cavities as quickly as possible, thereby contributing to the creation of a genuine European hydrogen storage and transport backbone.
With a total budget of €43 million, including €20 million funded by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, this project opens up new prospects for the development of renewable hydrogen storage in Europe.
Project timetable
This project, launched on 1 March 2024, will continue over several years:
2024 - 2025 :
- Studies and analyses for the implementation of the demonstrator at the Manosque site and for the replicability of the technology at the SaltHy site (Harsefeld, Germany)
2026 - 2027 :
- Construction period
2027 - 2029 :
- 100 injections and withdrawals from two cavities at the Géométhane site in Manosque
- Studies and analyses of hydrogen reactions according to the pressures to which it is subjected
- Comparison of predictions with theoretical results
Ultimately, in the commercial operation phase, the two caverns at Manosque will be able to store 6,000 tonnes of hydrogen. At Harsefeld, a storage capacity of 5,200 tonnes is planned.
"The project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members."
Clean Hydrogen Partnership
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership supports research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. It aims to accelerate the development of advanced, market-ready clean hydrogen applications in end-use sectors such as energy, transport, construction and industry, while strengthening the competitiveness of the clean hydrogen value chain.
The members of the partnership are the European Commission, the fuel cell and hydrogen industries represented by Hydrogen Europe and the research community represented by Hydrogen Europe Research.
https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu
"We are excited to be launching the FRHYGE project, which will demonstrate the feasibility of intelligent, energy-efficient operation of an underground hydrogen storage facility in salt caverns in Manosque, France. Building on the results of the first Hypster demonstration project at Etrez, these two initiatives can be replicated at other sites and help realise the benefits of hydrogen technologies across the European Union. Visit
The unique characteristics of the Manosque site will enable the FRHYGE project to take advantage of two neighbouring salt caverns to carry out 100 cycles of hydrogen storage, pushing back the limits of the art in terms of underground hydrogen storage to an unprecedented level", says Mirela Atanasiu, Acting Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership..
About our partners
Storengy
Storengy, an ENGIE subsidiary, is one of the world leaders in underground natural gas storage. The company has 21 sites in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. With 70 years' experience in underground exploration and exploitation, it is transforming its storage facilities to accommodate 100 % of renewable gas and is mobilising its skills to develop hydrogen storage infrastructures.
Its local roots enable Storengy to take concrete action on environmental, economic and social issues in favour of the regions in which it operates. Storengy also applies its expertise to industrial and energy storage projects in France and abroad.
www.storengy.com/fr
ARMINES
ARMINES is a French private not-for-profit research and knowledge dissemination organisation. On 06 January 2022, Mines Paris PSL and ARMINES signed an agreement known as a "quasi-governing agreement", which renews and transforms the agreements and relations that have bound them historically since 1967, in particular to undertake and carry out research and study activities in the scientific, technical and economic fields that meet the needs of companies, to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge, and to enhance the value of research activities carried out through the transfer of technologies, to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge, to enhance the value of the research carried out by transferring the resulting technologies, and to provide research training with a view to disseminating and applying the results of the research in industry.
www.armines.net
Ineris
Ineris (Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques) is a public body of an industrial and commercial nature, under the supervision of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion. The institute conducts research on behalf of public authorities, industrial operators and local authorities in the field of risk assessment, prevention and control related to industrial activities, particularly in underground environments. Over the years, Ineris has developed solid expertise in the assessment of environmental risks associated with storage activities.
underground. The Institute has large-scale laboratories for tests involving hydrogen. This expertise is based on experimental skills (particularly in situ), numerical modelling and risk assessment methods in the fields of safety, health and the environment.
https://www.ineris.fr/fr
ESK
ESK GmbH is a recognised engineering company for energy storage and systems services, and has been successfully managing national and international projects for many years. Its team of highly qualified engineers and geoscientists has extensive experience and know-how, particularly in the fields of aquifer and salt cavern storage technologies. ESK employs a total of 54 people in Holzwickede and Freiberg, as well as at its offices in Leipzig and Stassfurt, Germany.
www.esk-projects.com
Enagás
Enagás is a transmission system operator (TSO) with 50 years' experience in the development, operation and maintenance of energy infrastructures. It operates more than 12,000 kilometres of gas pipelines, three underground storage facilities and eight regasification plants, four of which are 100 % owned by Enagás and four others in which the company has a significant stake. The company operates in eight countries: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Germany, Albania, Greece and Italy. In Spain, it is the technical manager of the gas system and acts as provisional manager of the hydrogen backbone network. In line with its commitment to the energy transition, Enagás has announced its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, with a firm commitment to decarbonisation and the promotion of renewable gases, in particular hydrogen.
https://www.enagas.es/en/
GRTgaz
GRTgaz is Europe's 2nd largest gas transmission operator, with 32,641 km of pipelines and 626 TWh of gas transported. The company has 3,309 employees and generated sales of more than €2.1 billion in 2023. GRTgaz's raison d'être is "Together, making a secure, affordable and climate-neutral energy future possible".
GRTgaz is an innovative company undergoing major transformation to adapt its network to ecological and digital challenges, and is committed to a 100% carbon-neutral French gas mix by 2050. It supports the hydrogen and renewable gas sectors (biomethane and gas from solid and liquid waste). GRTgaz carries out public service missions to guarantee secure transmission for its 868 customers (shippers, distributors, industrial companies, power stations and biomethane producers). With its subsidiaries Elengy, Europe's leading LNG terminal operator, and GRTgaz Deutschland, operator of the German MEGAL transmission system, GRTgaz plays a key role on the European stage. The company exports its know-how internationally, in particular the services developed by its RICE research centre.
https://www.grtgaz.com/
Mines Paris PSL
Mines Paris PSL (an affiliate of ARMINES) trains engineers and produces knowledge that is essential for helping companies meet the challenges of their time. These challenges range from mining to produce the energy needed for major industrialisation, to ecological and digital transitions. A founding member of Université PSL, Mines Paris PSL is a leading French engineering school and the leader in research partnerships.
In this project, ARMINES and Mines Paris PSL are represented by the Centre de Géosciences, which has been working on salt caverns for the exploitation of salt by dissolution and energy storage for more than 45 years, and has developed skills in laboratory testing as well as rheological and numerical modelling.
https://www.minesparis.psl.eu/
Geostock
An international engineering company specialising in underground energy storage solutions, Geostock has established itself over the years as the world leader in underground energy storage. Drawing on more than 55 years' experience, Geostock has acquired high-level expertise in all underground storage techniques, with unique know-how in the implementation of safe, economical and environmentally-friendly infrastructures. Geostock is committed to developing the underground storage of low-carbon energies, in particular hydrogen, in saline cavities, porous media (aquifers or depleted deposits) or lined mined cavities.
https://www.geostockgroup.com/
IFP Energies Nouvelles
IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) is a major player in research and training in the fields of energy, mobility and the environment. From the scientific concepts associated with fundamental research to the technological solutions provided by applied research, innovation plays a central role in IFPEN's activities, which are structured around four strategic directions: climate, environment and circular economy, renewable energies, sustainable mobility and responsible hydrocarbons.
https://www.ifpenergiesnouvelles.fr/
ECO-MED
ECO-MED is a naturalist consultancy set up in 2003 to help land-use planners understand the regulatory framework for preserving biodiversity. In addition to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, the company's birthplace, ECO-MED's naturalists' knowledge of the field extends throughout the Mediterranean basin, in the Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Corsica regions, as well as beyond our borders.
ECO-MED's activities focus on 5 main areas: ecological expertise and consultancy, technical and scientific assistance, scientific and technical mediation, ecosystem restoration and conservation, and technical and regulatory training.
ECO-MED's main objective is to conserve biodiversity while contributing to the development of the local economy. Its activity is therefore part of a sustainable development approach.
https://ecomed.fr/
Geomethane
Géométhane is a GIE (Groupement d'Intérêt Economique - economic interest group) whose members are equally Storengy France and Géosud. Located in the communes of Dauphin and Manosque, Géométhane's facilities are on two separate sites, less than 3 km apart: the Gaude site, where the surface facilities are located, and the Gontard site, where the salt caverns are located.
https://www.geomethane.fr/
Capenergies
The Capenergies competitiveness cluster facilitates the emergence of innovative projects and supports their financing and development to accelerate the Energy Transition in the regions. It runs a dynamic network of nearly 520 members - major industrial groups, companies, including a majority of SMEs and start-ups, research and training centres, local authorities and financiers specialising in energy and related uses. It works for the benefit of low-carbon energy sectors and its members based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Corsica, Guadeloupe and the Principality of Monaco.
www.capenergies.fr
Artelys
Artelys is a French consulting and software company specialising in the modelling and optimisation of energy systems.
energy. The solutions offered by Artelys can be used to inform investment decisions (e.g. cost-benefit-risk analyses, hydrogen ecosystem sizing, etc.) and to develop operational strategies for managing flexibility solutions that take into account multiple types of operating constraints (e.g. optimising the bidding strategy for flexibility solutions on electricity markets). Active for more than 20 years, Artelys successfully combines advanced techniques in mathematical optimisation, data science and artificial intelligence with a detailed understanding of the issues facing the energy industry.
facing its customers. Project developers, producers, associations, network operators, local authorities, regulators, ministries, etc. rely on Artelys and its 130 engineers to help them make the right choices through studies and the implementation of software solutions.
www.artelys.com
Axens
The Axens Group offers a comprehensive range of solutions for the conversion of oil and biomass into cleaner fuels, the production and purification of key petrochemical intermediates, the chemical recycling of plastics, natural gas treatment and conversion options, water treatment and carbon capture. The offering includes technologies, equipment, furnaces, modular units, catalysts, adsorbents and related services. Axens is ideally positioned to cover the entire value chain, from feasibility studies to start-up and monitoring of units throughout their life cycle. This unique position guarantees an optimal level of performance and a reduced environmental footprint. Axens' international offering is based on highly qualified human resources, modern production facilities and an extensive global network for industrial, technical support and commercial services. Axens is an IFPEN group company.
www.axens.net
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