French company H2V, a subsidiary of Samfi Invest, is proceeding cautiously with its colossal hydrogen project. While it initially announced the creation of a green hydrogen gigafactory, , due to a lack of industrial outlets for its initial project.
Finally, it aims to produce 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen from 2030, and 150,000 tonnes of e-methanol to help decarbonise sea and air transport. The project is expected to create 140 jobs, including 80 direct jobs.
Estimated at €800m, the project--presented as “an essential link in the hydrogen chain in Moselle”--should prevent the emission of 160 tonnes of CO2 every year. Before that can happen, the plant will have to be built on former industrial wasteland in Thionville-Illange, which has now become the E-Log’in 4 platform, straddling the municipalities of Florange and Uckange. The project, as currently envisaged, would cover 31 hectares. The site was chosen for its strategic geographical location and proximity to several industrial sites.
The future plant will be powered by renewable electricity and connected to the grid with the involvement of RTE, which will involve creating a 225,000 volt underground link from the site to Saint-Hubert in Uckange. It will operate for 8,000 hours a year, or 333 days a year, and will be classified as Seveso (low threshold) for risk management reasons. A hazard study will therefore have to be carried out to identify the related risks and the measures that will have to be taken.
Citizens’ opinions sought
In view of the size of the investment, the scale of the facility and in accordance with France’s environmental code, a preliminary consultation is being organised so that civil society can be informed on the subject and give its opinion. The consultation begins on Monday 28 April and will last until 20 June. As part of this, the National Commission for Public Debate has appointed two citizens to act as guarantors for the consultation (Nathalie Durand and Jean-François Trassart), whose role will be to ensure the quality and transparency of the information and discussions.
All citizens have the opportunity to take part, ; in the registers made available in the town halls defined as part of the project perimeter (Florange, Uckange, Bertrange, Fameck, Guénange, Illange, Richemont, Terville, Thionville and Yutz); or during the planned discussion times. These will be either public and themed meetings, or debates at several venues in the Thionville area, according to the schedule below:
- Tuesday 29 April at 6pm, public meeting at ArcelorMittal’s Digital Lab in Uckange;
- Wednesday 30 April in the morning, debate at the E.Leclerc shopping centre in Fameck;
- Thursday 15 May at 6pm at the Thionville-Yutz IUT, themed meeting on the project’s contribution to decarbonising transport and the project’s outlets;
- Tuesday 20 May in the morning, debate at the Thionville market;
- Tuesday 20 May at 6pm at Le Diapason village hall in Uckange, a themed meeting on environmental issues and industrial risks;
- Tuesday 3 June at 6pm in the Salle du Casino in Thionville, a themed workshop on employment, training and the economic impact of the project;
- Wednesday 11 June at 6pm in the Salle Pablo Neruda in Guénange, a themed workshop on integrating the project into the local area;
- Thursday 19 June at 6pm at the Bétange complex in Florange, closing public meeting.
With the exception of local meetings, prior registration on the consultation website is recommended for each discussion time. All information relating to the project is published on the website.
This article was originally published in .