French hydrogen producer Lhyfe has signed a partnership with Source Galileo to explore commercial green hydrogen production sites across Ireland and the UK.
Formalised via the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the two companies will look at opportunities to couple renewable energy generation projects with electrolysis to create green hydrogen. The initial focus will be on onshore generators with an eye to utilise offshore wind in the future.
Although it was not specific what this green hydrogen would be used for, the two companies emphasised how hydrogen can be used to decarbonise industrial processes. Green hydrogen’s use in industrial processes continues to be highlighted as one of the best sectors to use the clean energy carrier and was referenced by Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearly on Friday (19 January) regarding Humberside.
The benefits of using green hydrogen to displace carbon-intensive grey hydrogen in steel manufacturing was referenced in a new report released by the think tank Policy Exchange, which argued the case for using curtailed wind generation for generating green hydrogen. In fact, a statement released by the companies signalled that 3,000TWh of hydrogen is currently considered “dirty” and must be replaced.
It is worth noting that Source Galileo has an expansive pipeline of both renewable and hydrogen production projects. The firm stated that its pipeline consists of “approximately 10GW of offshore wind and hydrogen projects under development in the UK, Ireland and Norway whilst also developing onshore battery storage and solar projects”.
One of the biggest incentives for the two companies to expand into the UK and Irish sectors is due to both nation’s correlating hydrogen strategies which offer investors confidence in the growing sector.
Kevin Lynch, CEO of Source Galileo, said: “Both the UK and Ireland have hydrogen strategies. The UK has committed to deploying 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, and Ireland is expected to develop at least 20GW of offshore wind by 2040, with an initial target of 2GW of hydrogen production from offshore wind by 2030.
“Our partnership with Lhyfe provides an onshore and offshore platform and a major step forward from which to assist in delivering government hydrogen targets.”
Lhyfe aims to achieve a green hydrogen production capacity of 200MW by the end of 2026 and an ambitious goal of 3GW by the end of 2030.
Lhyfe’s hydrogen expansions
Lhyfe has been exploring a number of different opportunities in the green hydrogen sphere in recent years with a focus on Europe.
In December, the firm announced plans to develop a 5MW green hydrogen production facility in Britanny, the northwestern tip of France. The hydrogen produced here will be used to supply hydrogen for local transport and industrial processes of regional companies.
The project also makes up part of the VHyGO or ‘Great West Hydrogen Valley’ project, supported by ADEME.
The firm also unveiled plans last year to develop a green hydrogen production project in Germany capable of creating 330 tonnes of green hydrogen per day in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is set to be commissioned by 2029.
This project would be a part of the European Hydrogen Backbone, an initiative aiming to create an EU-wide network of pipelines capable of supplying green hydrogen around the continent.
Current±’s publisher Solar Media will host the Green Hydrogen Summit on 17-18 April 2024 in Lisbon. The event will explore green hydrogen’s role in shipping, its production, supply chains, financing and renewable hydrogen derivatives and their applications. For more information, go to the website.
