French utility EDF aims to develop 3GW of green hydrogen projects by 2030, announcing this week an ambition to become one of the leading firms in the space.

Assuming the right government support policies are put in place, the company says it will invest between €2bn ($2.2bn) and €3bn in the technology by that year.

“With this ambitious plan and by capitalising on its expertise and know-how, the EDF group intends to contribute to the emergence of a strong and innovative European hydrogen sector,” says EDF CEO Jean Bernard Levy. 

The firm believes it can leverage the expertise of its low-carbon electricity production fleet—both nuclear and renewable—to become a leader in the field.

“The EDF group intends to contribute to the emergence of a strong and innovative European hydrogen sector” Levy, EDF

EDF created a subsidiary called Hynamics in 2019 that specialises in electrolyser and fuel-cell technologies.

Hynamics is already working on the Westkuste100 project, which involves building a 30MW electrolyser on a site owned by products refiner Raffinerie Heide in Germany. The project hopes to scale up to a capacity of 700MW in the next phase.

EDF and Hynamics are also planning a project in the Teesside region of the UK, which will see a 30-50MW electrolyser supply local ports and industrial units with green hydrogen. The project will use renewable power from the nearby Teesside offshore windfarm along with a new 50MW solar farm that EDF intends to construct near Redcar.

Capping emissions

EDF says its hydrogen strategy is in line with its ‘Cap 2030’ emissions reduction plan.

In early 2018, EDF made the commitment to reduce its direct CO₂ emissions 40pc by 2030 compared with a 2017 baseline, aiming to bring them down from 51mn t to 30mn t. At the beginning of 2020, the firm committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The hydrogen plan follows on from EDF’s solar, storage and mobility plans which have seen the firm expand into these spaces as part of its effort to transition.

---

Author: Tom Young