Lhyfe inaugurates green hydrogen production site in Brittany

Lhyfe inaugurated its latest green and renewable hydrogen production site – Lhyfe Bretagne – in Buléon a few days ago. The site is the first of its kind to be built in Brittany and one of the two largest in France, along with the Lhyfe Occitanie site. Lhyfe Bretagne will mainly supply hydrogen for local transport and the industrial processes of regional companies. Lorient Agglomération will be the first urban community in Brittany to benefit from the hydrogen produced at the site. 

Two years after the opening of its first site in Pays de la Loire, and a week after the launch of Lhyfe Occitanie, Lhyfe is today inaugurating a production unit in Brittany, thus confirming its promise of large-scale industrial deployment (five other sites are already under construction or expansion across Europe). These two new sites in Brittany and Occitanie – each with five times the production capacity of the initial site – meet the growing market demand for green and renewable hydrogen. Lhyfe’s aim is to produce up to 80 tonnes a day by 2026. This site also marks the start of Brittany’s hydrogen fuel chain, with Lorient Agglomération due to launch its first hydrogen-powered services in the first quarter of 2024. 

Clean fuel produced locally, to supply the entire region

Lhyfe will produce up to two tonnes of green and renewable hydrogen per day, or up to 575 tonnes per year (installed electrolysis capacity of 5 MW), from the site in Buléon (Morbihan), near the VSB Energies Nouvelles wind farm. Two tonnes of hydrogen would enable a hydrogen truck to travel around 25,000 km, without emitting a single gram of CO₂. With the same quantity, a car could travel the equivalent of five times around the earth, or around 200,000 km. 

In addition to producing its hydrogen by electrolysis of water, Lhyfe also uses renewable electricity, resulting in hydrogen that is completely carbon-free. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) signed with renewable electricity producers, including VSB Energies Nouvelles, ensure the supply of power. The central location of this site will enable Lhyfe to supply its customers throughout the Brittany region, as part of a short supply chain approach. 

Decarbonising mobility and industry and developing a regional hydrogen project in Brittany

Lhyfe Bretagne is part of the VHyGO or Great West Hydrogen Valley initiative, supported by local public and private stakeholders. VHyGO aims to build the first supraregional infrastructure for the production and distribution of green hydrogen in the west of France, to democratise this new energy carrier and decarbonise industry and transport.

Through this VHyGO initiative, Lhyfe Bretagne will supply two HyGO filling stations in the Lorient urban area – one at Lorient bus depot, which is due to be inaugurated in Q1 2024, and the other on the left bank of the river Scorff, which will cater for maritime uses. Eventually, 19 buses – the first of which are also due to be delivered during Q1 2024 – and two passenger transport boats (known as Transrades) could be powered by this clean and local energy in the Lorient conurbation. These hydrogen-powered Transrades will be a first in France. Lorient Agglomération is actively participating in ecological transition by renewing its public transport fleet. It aims for its fleet to be made up entirely of clean vehicles in 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 with the migration of buses (80% of the fleet will run on BioNGV and 20% on renewable hydrogen), as well as maritime vessels (with the arrival of hydrogen-powered sea buses).

A new compact, modular industrial production format 

In Buléon, like at the Lhyfe Occitanie site, the production unit now has a new “containerised” format, which has the dual advantage of reducing the footprint of sites, and promoting their scalability to support the development of hydrogen uses in the regions. 

Lhyfe Bretagne – which occupies a site of around 6,800 sq. metres – comprises a series of containerised buildings devoted to various functions (e.g. driver reception, control room, electrical conversion, water electrolysis, compression, quality control, etc.), a truck circulation area and loading bays for trucks transporting hydrogen to filling stations and various customers.   

Matthieu Guesné, Founder and CEO of Lhyfe: “Our site in Buléon, the first green and renewable hydrogen production site to see the day in Brittany and one of the largest sites in France, will soon be able to come into service to decarbonise industry and mobility in the region. We are very proud to be working with our public and private partners to help build a new industry for the future in Brittany, and to offer local stakeholders a viable alternative to fossil fuels from 2024.”