Accuracy Talks Straight #4 – Start-up stories
H2X-Ecosystems
Romain Proglio
Partner, Accuracy
Founded in 2018 in Saint Malo, H2X-Ecosystems provides companies and regional authorities with the opportunity to create complete virtuous ecosystems marrying energy production and decarbonised mobility. These ecosystems enable both the production and the consumpt ion of hydrogen on-site. They are co-built with and for local actors to make the most of their regional resources in order to create added value, whilst maintaining it at the local level. In this way, the ecosystems participate in the development of these rural, periurban or urban areas.
Renewable and low-carbon hydrogen is produced from water electrolysis using renewable energy, which has recently become one of the major levers for decarbonisation. H2X-Ecosystems links this production with typical consumers (buses, refuse collectors, etc.) but also and especially with light mobility and delivery services: self-service cars and last mile delivery. Indeed, the company has made available a hybrid car operating on both solar power and hydrogen, thanks to which on-grid recharge stations are no longer necessary. All this comes without noise pollution or greenhouse gases (CO2, NOx, etc.).
More generally, H2X-Ecosystems is present throughout the hydrogen value chain, from production to storage to consumption: electrolyser, high power electro-hydrogen unit, power pack (fuel cells and removable tanks) able to be incorporated in light mobility solutions.
H2X-Ecosystems has signed a partnership agreement with Enedis Bretagne for the deployment of its high-power electro-hydrogen unit designed to provide a temporary power source to the grid during construction work or in the event of an incident. This unit makes it possible to reduce Enedis’s CO2 emissions and noise pollution by replacing its fossil fuel units with this technology.
In addition, during a period of high pressure on energy prices, the value offer put forward by H2X-Ecosystems enables a move towards control of energy expenditure and energy autonomy for industrial sites by relying in particular on this electro-hydrogen generator combined with other complementary systems (renewable energies, on-site hydrogen production, etc.).
In his presentation of the France 2030 plan, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the importance of this sector in the future: ‘We are going to invest almost 2 billion euros to develop green hydrogen. This is a battle that we will lead for ecology, for jobs, and for the sovereignty of our country.’
Relying in particular on nuclear power to perform highly decarbonised electrolysis, France has a leading role to play. H2X-Ecosystems is participating to the full by establishing its first production tools in France, whilst reconciling its development with a virtuous ecological approach that will generate added value, energy independence and profitability for companies and regions.