McPhy teams are very proud to support this emblematic project, which embodies the energy transition at regional level.

Laurent Carme, McPhy Chief Executive Officer, stated: “McPhy teams are very proud to support this emblematic project, which embodies the energy transition at regional level. The scale of the project is making a major contribution to the industrialization of the hydrogen industry and to the reduction of its costs, thereby making clean energy more competitive compared to fossil fuels. The success of this real premiere is linked to the coordination of major public and private sector players around structuring projects for the industrial and economic development of territories.”

“Hympulsion takes a decisive step forward within the Zero Emission Valley project. Our choices illustrate all the excellence and expertise of the hydrogen sector operating in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region. At a time when the current global health crisis has resonances with the climate crisis, Hympulsion is acting and investing by combining the creation of activity, employment and the fight against climate change. We share this common ambition with our financing partners, the Innovation and Network Executive Agency and the ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency).” testified Thierry Raevel, President of Hympulsion.

As a clean alternative fuel, hydrogen produced by electrolysis significantly reduces pollution in the transport sector and represents an essential lever for a more virtuous energy mix. Hydrogen-powered vehicles have the particularity of not emitting any polluting emissions, simply water steam. Thanks to a short recharging time between 3 and 5 minutes and a range similar to internal combustion engine vehicles ones, hydrogen vehicles are ideal for professional use, combining ease of use and participation in the fight against atmospheric pollution.

Initiated by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional council and supported by the European Union, the Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) project stands out by its scale, its innovative nature and also the quality of the partnership built between public and private sector players. With a plan targeting the deployment, before the end of 2023, of 1,200 fuel cell vehicles, 20 hydrogen stations, including several with electrolyzers to produce hydrogen from renewable electricity without emitting CO2, this project aims to make Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes the pioneering region for hydrogen mobility in France and one of the first carbon-neutral territories at the European level, while helping to create profitable models that can be replicated on a European scale.

The ZEV project responds to an environmental, industrial and economic challenge:

• Fighting global warning and contributing to the preservation of public health: produced by electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources, hydrogen is a clean energy. Hydrogen-powered vehicles therefore emit no polluting particles or CO2 into the atmosphere.
• Reindustrializing territories and participating in the creation of value in territories: the massification of these technologies will make it possible to drastically reduce acquisition costs (vehicles, stations, electrolyzers) and thus strengthen the competitiveness of clean energies compared to fossil fuels.
• Creating skilled jobs in a booming sector at the service of clean mobility and the challenges of decarbonation of territories.

On an unprecedented scale in France, the synchronized deployment of vehicles and refueling infrastructure will be carried out by Hympulsion, a company having for shareholders the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional council, ENGIE, Michelin, Banque des Territoires and Crédit Agricole through the 5 regional banks of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region (1).

With more than 50 references in France and Europe, a team of more than 100 employees spread over 4 sites in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and a production capacity of 70 hydrogen stations per year, the three groups McPhy (leader of the consortium), Atawey and TSM decided to combine their strengths within a joint and solidarity group: “MAT”.
Selected on the basis of rigorous technical and economic criteria in a dedicated call for tenders, the consortium made up of McPhy, Atawey and TSM will, according to the framework contract, design, manufacture and integrate 14 of the 19 (2) hydrogen stations to provide, 5 of which as definitive part. The following parts of the MAT framework contract plan the deployment of nine additional stations and several electrolyzers, which ensure the on-site production of zero-carbon hydrogen.

Within the consortium, McPhy technologies will equip 5 high-capacity hydrogen stations (McFilling 400/800 kg / day, upgradeable, electrolysis and gas connection compatible) combining compactness, modularity and a high level of performance, and several McLyzer electrolyzers, outcome of a first-rate R&D. The framework contract plans to deploy 3 McFilling stations as definitive part, and to implement 2 stations and several electrolyzers as conditional part.

The project as a whole represents more than € 11 million in sales for McPhy, confirming the Group’s excellent commercial dynamics.

Now more than ever, it is essential to combine economic development and employment with environmental protection to serve the cities, regions and societies of tomorrow

“Thanks to our solid industrial organization and our proven technological solutions, our aim is to place the dual objective of user satisfaction and economic performance at the heart of this project, while guaranteeing the highest levels of equipment quality and safety. Now more than ever, it is essential to combine economic development and employment with environmental protection to serve the cities, regions and societies of tomorrow”, concluded Laurent Carme.

With 37 MW of high-power electrolysis capacity, 25 stations (3) and the signing of this emblematic contract for zero-emission mobility, McPhy is consolidating its position as a major technological and industrial partner in the hydrogen market.

With more than 620,000 liters of fossil fuels replaced and more than 1,500 tons of CO2 emissions avoided each year, this project will make it possible to respond to climate challenges, such as those set by the Green Pact for Europe, which aims to make Europe climate neutral by 2050, while demonstrating that economic development, wealth creation and preservation of the environment can be compatible.

ZEV | Key figures

• 20 hydrogen stations
• 1,600 kg of green H2 produced per day in the long run
• 1,200 hydrogen-powered vehicles
• 623,700 liters of fossil fuels saved
• 1,517 tons of CO2 emissions avoided per year

Footnotes

(1) The project is financed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) and the European CEF Transport fund
(2) It should be recalled the commissioning of the first hydrogen station of the ZEV project, which acted as an experiment before the regional deployment, in Clermont-Ferrand in 2019 ; and the inauguration in Chambéry, in mid-February 2020, of a Hympulsion station equipped with an Atawey distribution unit and a McPhy’s Mclyzer technology electrolyzer enabling the station to produce green hydrogen on site.
(3) References deployed, under installation or in development | April 2020 Figures

Next events

First semester 2020 results release, on July 28, 2020, after close of trading.