Lhyfe and Chantiers de l'Atlantique have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which aims to take their partnership on developing offshore renewable hydrogen production to a new level.

The two have been working for 18 months within the SEM-REV project on the co-development of a pilot system for offshore hydrogen production.

As such, Lhyfe and Chantiers de l'Atlantique are preparing to launch the world's first offshore renewable hydrogen production demonstrator in September 2022, off the coast of Saint-Nazaire in France.

Following this demonstrator, the companies want to deploy a more extensive system. To that end, Lhyfe and Chantiers de l'Atlantique will collaborate on offshore renewable hydrogen production projects with on- or off-grid wind farms.

Chantiers de l'Atlantique will design, build and install the platforms, while Lhyfe will be in charge of designing and operating the renewable hydrogen production facilities.

For offshore projects, the partners plan to develop production solutions with a minimum capacity of 100 MW - installed on existing fixed structures or mounted on seabed foundations or floating platforms.

"We are delighted to take this new step forward with Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Thanks to the complementarity and solidity of our expertise, and based on our previous achievements, we are now in a position to respond to the various calls for tenders related to offshore. The production of renewable green hydrogen on a very large scale is now within reach!" Thomas Créach, Lhyfe's Technical Director, commented.

Frédéric Grizaud, Director of Chantiers de l'Atlantique's Marine Energy & Engineering Business Unit, added, "The signing of this agreement is the concrete materialization of a successful collaboration between two companies with a desire to play a full role in energy transition. We are now in a position in France to offer green hydrogen production solutions for the international market."

Photo: Lhyfe