A pioneer in the field of stable, guaranteed green energy production for electricity grids, HDF Energy continues to develop its flagship Renewstable® hydrogen power plant model. These plants combine electricity generation from intermittent renewable energy sources with large-scale on-site energy storage in the form of green hydrogen.
The first Renewstable project, the Centrale Électrique de l’Ouest Guyanais (CEOG), has successfully passed a key technological milestone. The tests carried out recently with HDF's Canadian partner, Ballard Power Systems, on the first 1.5 MW fuel cell for CEOG were a success, underscoring HDF Energy’s industrial expertise in the development of high-power fuel cells, a critical technological element in large-scale hydrogen infrastructure for power generation. The two 1.5 MW fuel cells will be transferred to the site in French Guiana during 2024.
HDF Energy has also reached a new milestone for its Renewstable Barbados (RSB) plant in the Caribbean by securing US$41 million in financing from the World Bank and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the largest climate fund under the aegis of the UN. RSB therefore becomes the first green hydrogen power project to receive such financing, marking an important step in the financial structuring of the project, in which Rubis holds a 51% stake alongside HDF.
In addition to the Renewstable power plants, HDF Energy has initiated a number of projects to develop large-scale infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen. In 2022, the Group acquired a stake in the 'NewGen' project in Trinidad and Tobago (total investment of US$200 million). In November 2023, HDF Energy announced a second major project in Morocco with the signing of a co-development agreement for the 'White Dunes' giga-project to produce green hydrogen, involving an investment of US$2 billion, in partnership with Falcon Capital Dakhla, a leading Moroccan developer. HDF Energy will lend its expertise to the development of the infrastructure, with the aim of producing hydrogen from 2028.
High-power fuel cells are a core component of these large-scale infrastructure projects. With a view to becoming an integrated industrial player, HDF Energy is building the world’s first mass production plant for high-power fuel cells, in Blanquefort, Gironde, France. The plant will be delivered in January 2024 and is scheduled to come on stream in summer 2024. Mass production could then begin in 2025.
These high-power fuel cells are intended for the market in green electricity generation for energy grids, in particular through Renewstable power plants, as well as the market in low-carbon heavy mobility (sea and rail), in which HDF Energy has made significant investments in the form of strategic holdings in the maritime and rail freight sectors.
The plant is part of a broader industrial project involving the development and industrialisation of ultra high-power fuel cells (up to 10 MW). This project has been selected as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) by the French government. Final validation by the European Commission regarding the level of support requested is expected in spring 2024.
Damien Havard, Chairman and CEO of HDF Energy, said: “In view of the state of progress of projects under development, our excellent sales momentum and HDF Energy’s recognised industrial capacity, we are well placed to achieve our goal of becoming a major industrial player in the hydrogen sector. We have secured the foundations of our development potential both in the hydrogen power infrastructure market and in the heavy hydrogen mobility market, with the constant aim of establishing ourselves as a key player in the decarbonisation of the energy and transport sectors.”