26-03-2024

Launch of the FrHyGe project with 17 European partners and co-ordinated by Storengy

On 20 March 2024, the European consortium met for the official launch of the FrHyGe* project, supported and funded by the European Union through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. This €43M project aims to validate the underground storage of hydrogen in salt caverns on an industrial scale. The project will allow the deployment of an industrial demonstrator in Manosque, France, as well as the replication study on the Harsefeld site in Germany and more widely at a European scale.

*FrHyGE: Full qualification in France for large-scale HYdrogen underground storage and replication from Germany to all European countries

A large-scale demonstrator for underground hydrogen storage in Europe The FrHyGe project has four objectives:

• Converting a natural gas (or brine) salt cavern for hydrogen storage,
• Demonstrating the feasibility of injection and withdraw 100 tonnes of hydrogen over cycles ranging from onr hour to one week in the converted caverns at the Manosque site,
• Studying the market penetration, the value chain and preparing for replication at other sites in France, Germany, and across Europe,
• Assessing the environmental impact, safety, and regulations in preparation for deployment on the GeoH₂ (Manosque) and SaltHy (Harsefeld) projects.

As part of the FrHyGe project, Storengy, the project coordinator, and its partners will carry out technical, economic, regulatory, environmental, and safety studies. They will establish a roadmap to deploy the process of conversion and creation of storage caverns as quickly as possible and thus contribute to the creation of a true European hydrogen storage and transport backbone.

With a total budget of 43 million euros, of which 20 million are funded by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, this project opens up new prospects for the development of renewable hydrogen storage in Europe.

Project timetable

This project, launched on 1er March 2024, will run for several years:

2024 - 2025

• Studies and analyses for the implementation of the demonstrator at the Manosque site and the replicability of the technology at the SaltHy site (Harsefeld, Germany)

2026 - 2027

• Construction period

2027 - 2029

• 100 injections and withdrawals from 2 caverns at the Géométhane site in Manosque
• Studies and analyses of hydrogen reactions according to the pressures to which it is subjected
• Comparison of predictions with theoretical results

Next, in the commercial operation phase, the two caverns in Manosque will allow the storage of 6,000 tonnes of hydrogen. In Harsefeld a storage capacity of 5,200 tonnes is planned. "The project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members."

Clean Hydrogen Partnership The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is supporting research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. It aims to accelerate the development of advanced clean hydrogen applications ready for market, across end-use sectors such as energy, transport, building and industry, while strengthening the competitiveness of the clean hydrogen value chain. The members of the partnership are the European Commission, fuel cell and hydrogen industries represented by Hydrogen Europe and the research community represented by Hydrogen Europe Research. https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu

“We are excited to kick-start the project FRHYGE which will demonstrate the feasibility of a smart and energy-efficient operation of a hydrogen underground storage facility in salt caverns in Manosque, France. Building on the findings of first demonstration project of Hypster in Etrez, both projects can be replicated to other sites and contribute to materialize the benefits of hydrogen technologies across the entire EU. The unique characteristics of the Manosque site will allow the FRHYGE project to take advantage of two neighbouring salt caverns to perform 100 storage cycles of hydrogen, thereby pushing the state of the art in underground hydrogen storage to an unprecedented level.” says Mirela Atanasiu, Executive Director ad interim of Clean Hydrogen Partnership