In 2022, Edison continued to phase out its exploration and production (E&P) business, entering into an agreement to dispose of its stake in Reggane Nord (Algeria) to Repsol and Wintershall Dea. This operation, subject to validation by the local authorities, should be completed during the first half of 2023.
In April 2022, EDF launched its fifth industrial plan, the Hydrogen Plan, with the aim of developing 3GW of electrolytic hydrogen projects worldwide by 2030, thereby positioning itself as one of the European leaders in low-carbon electrolytic hydrogen (using renewable or nuclear electricity, and low-carbon grid) (1).
The fifth industrial plan seeks to support decarbonation in industry and transportation and forms part of the EDF group’s CAP 2030 strategy. Indeed, the development of low-carbon hydrogen alongside direct electrification will play a key role in achieving carbon neutrality, in particular through the in-depth decarbonation of industrial processes such as chemistry (production of ammonia and methanol), refining and steelmaking.
Low-carbon hydrogen produced by water electrolysis also has a major role to play in the decarbonation of heavy-duty mobility. It can already contribute to the decarbonation of local ecosystems (buses, refuse collection vehicles, trucks, trains in non-electrified areas, etc.). In future, hydrogen derivatives such as e-fuels will allow for the decarbonation of air and sea transport.
EDF can draw on its expertise in electrolytic hydrogen, developed for many years by EDF R&D as part of its innovation policy: the first research in this field by R&D dates back to the 1970s. Moreover, since 2003 electrolytic hydrogen has been at the heart of the knowhow developed by EIFER (2) and at the electrolyser test platform commissioned in 2020 at EDF R&D’s facility EDF Lab Les Renardières.
In 2018, EDF took out a stake in French electrolyser manufacturer McPhy to strengthen the Group’s industrial expertise in this area.
In 2019, EDF set up Hynamics. This wholly-owned subsidiary markets hydrogen decarbonation solutions for industry and heavy-duty transportation. Based on its investor and operator/maintainer model, it offers turnkey solutions to its customers in France and more generally in Europe.
In 2021, EDF bought into the Hy24 investment fund dedicated to hydrogen.
Upstream, the EDF group can draw on its low-carbon electricity generation fleet (nuclear and renewable fleets with assets in over twenty countries), its knowhow in contract and energy management and its ability to put together integrated projects, for instance by optimising the coupling of hydrogen production and renewable electricity production in the most favourable areas.
In respect of the production of hydrogen and its derivatives (3), the Group already has expertise and operational knowhow thanks to the first projects developed and commissioned by Hynamics. It can also draw on the expertise of Group engineering for the integration of major industrial projects and its experience in terms of industrial safety management and project development, all in line with its CSR commitments.
In partnership with the cement group Vicat, the Hynovi project is aiming to create France’s first decarbonised methanol production system using captured CO2 combined with hydrogen produced by water electrolysis. The French government has pre-notified the European Commission of the project in respect of IPCIE-H2 (4).With production of 200,000 tonnes of synthetic methanol per year, equivalent to one quarter of national consumption, the project aims to avoid almost 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Two other Hynamics projects have also been selected for IPCIE-H2 and pre-notified to the European Commission. One is a project with fertiliser manufacturer Boréalis, the other is with Domo Chemicals, one of the largest high-carbon hydrogen consumer sites in France, in the heart of the Lyon area’s ‘chemical valley’.
Hynamics also successfully bid on mobility-related ADEME (5) calls for projects to supply energy for buses for the Auxerrois and Grand Belfort Urban Districts.
As a result, Hynamics and Transdev have launched the largest renewable hydrogen production and distribution site in France, in Auxerre. Dubbed AuxHYGen, the facility has a capacity of 1MW and can produce up to 400kg of green hydrogen per day via water electrolysis, thus avoiding 2,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. The aim is to extend the production capacities of these installations from 1 to 3MW by 2025.
On 13 September 2022, the Mob’HyZEE project was one of the winners of the European Commission’s ‘Connecting Europe Facility Transport’ funding programme. The hydrogen station project managed by Hynamics will receive subsidies worth €10.2 million, with total investment amounting to almost €40 million.
In August 2020, the Westküste100 joint venture, in which Hynamics is a 24% shareholder, was awarded €15 million to install a 30MW electrolyser, one of Europe’s biggest, on the Heide refinery site in Schleswig Holstein as part of the German Reallabor programme. Extension of the project, known as Hyscale100, involves deploying almost 2GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 to address the hydrogen needs of the refinery, as well as to produce synthetic fuels; it was pre-notified by the German government to the European Commission in respect of IPCIE-H2 (Important Project of ordinary European Interest for Hydrogen).
In 2022, EDF Renewables UK and Hynamics announced their intention of making major investments in the Teesside project. In doing so, they are supporting the aims of local and national government to regenerate the Tees valley by investing in decarbonation. Tees Green Hydrogen is a pioneering project to supply local business customers with hydrogen, supporting them in their decarbonation engagement. In the first phase, the electrolyser will be between 30 and 50MW; it is designed to be able to be upgraded to over 500MW.
With the support of Hynamics, Luminus positioned itself on several projects to develop, finance, construct, and operate hydrogen production facilities in Belgium.
(1) Currently, 95% of hydrogen is manufactured using fossil fuels; since this process generates CO2, it is referred to as “grey” hydrogen. Hydrogen (H2) can either be created from methane by means of steam reforming, or by splitting a water molecule (H2O) by electrolysis, i.e. by means of an electric current. Hydrogen is considered to be “green” if the electrolysis in question is produced by renewable energy, or low-carbon energy if it is produced using nuclear electricity. “Green” or “low-carbon” hydrogen is thus an attractive way of decarbonising sectors in which direct electrification is not possible. Such sectors include refining, chemicals, and heavy-duty transport.
(2) EIFER is the joint research centre for EDF and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, KIT) in Germany.
(3) Synthetic fuels (also known as e-fuels) such as e-methanol, e-ammonia and e-kerosene can be produced from hydrogen; their increasingly wider use is being envisaged to help with the decarbonation of sea and air transport.
(4) IPCEI: Important Project of ordinary European Interest.
(5) ADEME: French Environmental & Energy Management Agency.
