Total and Engie have signed a cooperation agreement to design, develop, build and operate the Masshylia project, France’s largest renewable hydrogen production site at Châteauneuf-les-Martigues in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur South region.
Located at the heart of Total’s La Mède biorefinery and powered by solar farms with a total capacity of more than 100MW, the 40MW electrolyser 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.
An innovative management solution for the production and storage of hydrogen will be implemented to manage the intermittent production of solar electricity and the biorefinery’s need for continuous hydrogen supply.
Key features of the project:
- A digital piloting system for the continuous supply of hydrogen with real-time management of solar electricity production,
- Optimising the integration of several photovoltaic farms supplying the electrolyser to minimise 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 electrolyser to improve the energy balance,
- Enhanced industrial safety thanks to the use of 3D digital models for each component of the installation
Beyond this first phase, new renewable farms may be developed by the partners for the electrolyser, which has the capacity to produce up to 15 tonnes of green hydrogen per day.
The two 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 authorisations. To this end, the project has already applied for subsidies from the French (AMI) and European authorities (IPCEI, Innovation Fund).
