Hydrogen generators (without CO2 emissions) ready for delivery in front of the Eodev Eneria CAT factory in Montlhéry, near Paris, on June 20, 2023 (AFP/Archives/Emmanuel DUNAND)
In Montlhéry, south of Paris, the pace is accelerating on the chains of the Eodev Eneria CAT factory. The hydrogen generators that come out of it promise to produce electricity without emitting CO2 or fine particles. Enough to forget the backfiring oil-fired generators, as bad for the climate as for the lungs.
From the foot of the Auvergne volcanoes to the bay of Saint-Brieuc, festive summer gatherings displaying themselves as eco-responsible are adopting hydrogen, instead of diesel, to produce enormous quantities of watts and decibels in isolated places. , away from any electrical network.
“90% of events use generators, there are thousands of them everywhere but they pollute a lot by rejecting both CO2 and carbon monoxide”, recognizes Jérome Bourdel, commercial director of GCK Energy, manufacturer and rental company. of traditional mobile electrical equipment but also a customer of Eodev.
He lists his latest contracts for green hydrogen generators: “In June, for the Nuées ardentes scientific festival in a protected natural area at the foot of Puy-de-Dôme, in Clermont-Ferrand for the Europavox music festival or on the roadside , during a stage of the Tour de France”.
– One ton of CO2 per day –
In the Côtes d’Armor at Hillion, in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, the “Folies en baie” festival on August 6 and 7 was equipped with hydrogen generators. “Les Eurockéennes” of Belfort also at the beginning of July.
An assembly line of Eodev hydrogen electricity generators in Montlhéry, near Paris, June 20, 2023 (AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND)
As early as the summer of 2022, the Futur 2 festival in Hamburg, Germany boasted of being the “first festival in the world” electrified thanks to hydrogen from wind energy.
The construction industry is also a major customer. Construction sites seek to green their activity by abandoning conventional and polluting generators.
“A diesel generator of a hundred horsepower over a day can emit up to a ton of CO2 to produce 1 MW of energy, i.e. the Paris-New York round trip of a passenger by plane, not counting the noise and atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and NOX”, recalls Thibault Tallien, marketing director of the company EODev.
This company has been producing hydrogen generators for three years on a production line in the Eneria CAT factory in Montlhery. It is based on the scientific demonstrations carried out on board the Energy Explorer laboratory vessel, which has been powered around the world since 2017 using solar, wind and hydrogen energy, in autonomy.
The central element of the generators that come out of this factory is a Toyota brand fuel cell, produced in Belgium. By electro-chemical reaction on the protons and electrons of hydrogen, it produces electricity.
The other equipment – chassis, radiators, electrical panel, wiring – comes from French SMEs.
Operating test of the racks of hydrogen cylinders intended to supply the GEH2 electric generators produced at the EODev Eneria CAT factory in Montlhéry, near Paris, on June 20, 2023 (AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND)
Connected to racks of cylinders of compressed hydrogen gas certified “green” by their producer (that is to say coming from wind, solar or even hydroelectric electricity), the generators look like large white refrigerators silent and emit only water vapour.
“We produce 150 a year, exported all over the world, and can go to 600,” says Mr. Tallien.
– Four times more expensive –
A potentially gigantic market. Worldwide, the sale of generators passed the 20 billion dollar mark in 2022, and “should double by 2030 to reach between 4 and 6 million units per year”, estimates Mr. Tallien. 70% run on diesel, 26% on gas, and 4% are hybrid.
A GEH2 hydrogen electricity generator without CO2 or fine particle emissions, on the site of the Eodev Eneria CAT factory in Montlhéry, June 20, 2023 (AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND)
Main disadvantage of green generators: their cost. Each device costs “four times more” than a diesel generator, says Tallien. “But he has a better yield”.
At GCK Energy, Jérome Bourdel admits “having rowed the first two years” to “prove the interest of the concept” to his customers. “But as soon as they have tested, they adopt”, according to him.
With a big downside: 1 kWh of electricity from hydrogen costs 2 euros, compared to only 30 cents for grid electricity, and 1 to 1.20 euros from a conventional oil-fired generator. Thus, for the craze to be sustainable, “the real challenge remains to lower the cost of green hydrogen”, he underlines.
© 2023 AFP
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