Beyond its traditional industrial applications mainly petroleum product chemistry and refining , hydrogen has real potential to fuel the energy transition.
Hydrogen can play a part in decarbonising certain sectors, including transport, as well as facilitating the storage of surplus power from renewable energy production. However, it is essential that hydrogen production shifts towards clean methods e. A fully-fledged sector is now being established, driven by both long-standing industry players and start-ups at the forefront of innovation.
Within this framework, priority is given to the deployment of mature technologies, support for pioneering the technologies of the future and decarbonised hydrogen storage. Hydrogen is not an energy source but an energy conveyor.
The energy it contains is extracted either by burning it burning 1 kg of H 2 releases three times more energy than 1 kg of petrol and produces only water , or using a fuel cell H 2 coupled with an air supply and introduced into a heat pump, which generates electricity whilst discharging only water. Two of these projects focus on trapped hydrogen one by Kem One in the petrochemicals sector, and the other by Storengy and Engie Solutions in the agri-food industry.
The other three projects relate to on-site production using an electrolyser two by Engie Solutions in the pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors, and one by Hynamics in materials chemistry. During the first few months of , the Ministry has been working on an additional support programme. Support will come from national calls for projects and ventures at European level EU Projects of Common Interest, innovation funds.
