The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region formalised the creation of the company “Hympulsion” during the inauguration of the International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS 32), held in Lyon from 19 to 22 May 2019. The company’s objective is to propel the region into pole position for European hydrogen.
Hydrogen energy: a different way to develop electric vehicles
A hydrogen car (H2) is a clean vehicle equipped with electric motors, but it is the hydrogen contained in the vehicle’s tank that is used to produce, in real time, the energy that powers the electric motors. This works for a car as well as for a motorbike or a bicycle, according to Christophe Brugnot, Head of PRAGMA INDUSTRIES, a company specialising in the manufacture of hydrogen bicycles.
The only constraint at present lies in the need for a network of hydrogen filling stations, as with traditional fuel. For this reason, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is committed, through the company Hympulsion (bringing together the electricity supplier ENGIE and MICHELIN, the French tyre manufacturer), to setting up hydrogen filling stations across the region.
The choice to develop the hydrogen sector in the region
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is undoubtedly the best-positioned region in Europe to embark on this hydrogen mobility project. Étienne Blanc, First Vice-President of the Region, explains that 80% of hydrogen stakeholders in France are based in the AURA region. The region has also been working with its partners on the subject for years, giving it a significant head start on the matter.
On ENGIE’s side, the group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Franck Bruel, states that his group will be involved in promoting the entire project. The same applies to Michelin’s brand-new CEO, Florent Menegaux, who has expressed the group’s intention to support the initiative 100%.
Hympulsion: the region partners with two organisations
To deliver the Hympulsion project, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has gone all out by partnering with ENGIE and Michelin. Together, the three partners will launch an initiative still unprecedented in Europe: the deployment of a network of twenty local hydrogen refuelling stations across the region by 2023.
The first hydrogen refuelling stations are scheduled to be installed as early as next August in Chambéry and Clermont-Ferrand. Over the following three years, Lyon, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne, Valence, as well as Annecy and Montélimar, will follow. The rollout of these refuelling stations should enable the market launch of more than one thousand hydrogen vehicles, which will also be eligible for European and regional subsidies. Are you interested in the profession of energy recovery engineer? Discover the programme offered by École des Mines Saint-Étienne!
