Fascinating interview with the founding president of HDF Energy, Damien Havard, at the head of nearly 50% of the capital, accompanied by the managing director, Jean-Noël de Charentenay. Initially, the company only developed projects to produce non-intermittent renewable electricity. [Une énergie intermittente est définie comme une énergie dont la disponibilité varie fortement, sans possibilité de contrôle, ainsi en produisant plus que de besoin dans la journée, on peut stocker et restituer le soir]. She found a few suppliers of electrolysers (solar production of hydrogen for storage), such as McPhy, but not for fuel cells (which then transform hydrogen into electricity at night). In fact, power greater than a megawatt was required and operation guaranteed for 20 to 25 years.
A solution was found with the Canadian Ballard, which will supply the core of the battery. The plant manufactured by HDF for an investment of 20 million euros (partly financed by credit) will be able to produce high-power batteries (1.5 megawatts) up to 100 megawatts per year (i.e. around 66 batteries). It will be located near Bordeaux, on 4 hectares of former Ford land in Blanquefort. The site should start this summer, at best in June, and will last one year, for the plant to be operational in the summer of 2023. The customers will be in particular the project companies created by HDF Energy.
HDF has already developed a first project for the production of non-intermittent renewable electricity in Guyana. ” It will be a world first », Emphasizes Damien Havard, with EDF as a client. Electricity will be competitive with diesel generators. The investment of 170 million euros will be financed at 80% by debt, which shows the confidence of the banks. The capital contribution (20%, ie 34 million) will be assumed by HDF up to the shares it will keep, ie 10%. The main shareholder will be the Meridian fund. HDF will invoice several million euros for its development services and ” will achieve a total turnover of more than 10 million euros including the sale of fuel cells », Explains the president. The manufacturer, Siemens, will provide a guarantee of operational performance. The electrolysers will be supplied by McPhy. This electricity production unit should be operational in 2024.
Other projects are under study, in Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, Barbados… Competitiveness could soon be assured not only against diesel (still widely used, including in the United States), but also gas, the prices of which have gone up. So maybe this is the start of a beautiful success story international!