Total and Engie joined forces, signing a cooperation agreement to design, develop, build and operate France’s largest renewable hydrogen production site.
Accordingly, it is reported that the Masshylia project will be set up at Châteauneuf-les-Martigues in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur South region.
The project will integrate the implementation of five innovations including:
- a digital piloting system for the continuous supply of hydrogen with real-time management of solar electricity production,
- optimizing the integration of several photovoltaic farms supplying the electrolyzer to minimize energy losses and limit grid congestion,
- large-scale hydrogen storage to balance intermittent electricity production and continuous hydrogen consumption,
- a direct current connection between a photovoltaic farm and the electrolyzer to improve the energy balance
- enhanced industrial safety thanks to the use of 3D digital models for each component of the installation.
Located at the heart of Total’s La Mède biorefinery and powered by solar farms with a total capacity of more than 100 MW, the 40 MW electrolyzer will produce 5 tonnes of green hydrogen per day to meet the needs of the biofuel production process at Total’s La Mède biorefinery, avoiding 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, the company said in its statement on Wednesday, 13 January.
In addition to the first phase, new renewable farms may be developed by the partners for the electrolyzer, which has the capacity to produce up to 15 tonnes of green hydrogen per day.
Concluding, both partners aim to begin construction of the facilities in 2022, following the completion of the advanced engineering study, with a view to production in 2024, subject to the necessary financial support and public authorizations.
