The financial terms of the test are confidential. In search of decarbonization, the ArcelorMittal factory produces 100,000 tonnes per year of high-performance electrical steels, intended for electric and hybrid vehicles and alternators for energy production. The Genvia SOEL200 experimental solid oxide electrolyzer will be capable of producing up to 200 kilos of hydrogen per day (electrical power equivalent to 300 kW). “This represents 70 to 80% of the plant’s hydrogen needs”assesses Bruno Ribo, operations director of Electrical Steel ArcelorMittal Flat Europe. During the test, decarbonized hydrogen will replace the hydrogen used in the industrial process, resulting from steam methane reforming. “The plant, which operates 24/7, needs excellent quality hydrogen”emphasizes Bruno Ribo.
Land studies for the “second generation” factory
The demonstrator will integrate a heat recovery unit from the continuous annealing line process to maximize the efficiency and cost of hydrogen production, as well as a hydrogen purification/compression unit. According to Genvia, this will be the first site to couple, on demand, hydrogen from electrolysis with that produced by the existing process. “The test will last six months to a yearindicates president Florence Lambert to L’Usine Nouvelle. This first demonstrator in the industry is a world first and for us a learning vehicle.” In addition to the steel industry, Genvia has identified fields of application in chemistry, refining, heat industries, and the manufacture of eSAF electrofuel for aviation (a study agreement was signed with Airbus in early 2024 ) or in a potential coupling to the nuclear reactors of the future.
In Béziers, a full-size replica of the future industrial demonstrator is finalized thanks to the pilot production line inaugurated in June 2023, which Genvia is constantly improving. “The objective is to simplify the process, save material, accelerate the paceexplains Florence Lambert. In three years, we have added 40 patents to the 40 of the CEA. We protected the entire value chain.” The first generation of Genvia electrolysers is announced to be three times more powerful than the Lozère demonstrator, and more compact. “We will release our first 1 megawatt product at the end of 2026says Florence Lambert. We are on time.”
A new factory planned in Béziers
90 people currently work in Béziers (where the operator is hosted by the SLB factory) and 160 in total with the teams from Grenoble (research and development center) and Clamart. The establishment of a “second generation” factory in Béziers is planned for 2027-2028. “Genvia has obtained support of 200 million euros,” recalled the prefect of Hérault, Francois-Xavier Lauch, on November 4. Genvia is supported by France 2030 and was awarded the PIEEC Hy2Tech in September 2022. At the end of January, the Béziers Méditerranée urban community and its developer Viaterra entered into a land protocol with Genvia to study as a priority the establishment of the future factory, planned for 2028 and bringing several hundred jobs, in the Mazeran area in Béziers. The latter is one of the 55 “turnkey France 2030” sites selected in April 2024.
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