In the heart of the Casinca plain, Folell'HYa green hydrogen project, will soon emerge from the ground on the road to San Pellegrino, near the Folelli marina.
A first on the island territory. As part of Industry Week, BTS electrotechnical students from Paul-Vincensini high school and students from Jacques-Faggianelli maritime lycée visited the photovoltaic power plant of Corsica Sunthis Thursday, November 21, alongside Michel Prosic, the prefect of Haute-Corse.
This leading solar energy producer in Europe will supply green hydrogen to the new maritime high school ship, recently inaugurated this Friday, November 15.
A start of activity planned for summer 2025
The primary objective of the Folell'HY project is to recover excess solar energy in order to transform it into green hydrogen. A way to boost the performance of the means already in place.
This transformation will be carried out by a 30Nm3/h electrolyzer capable of storing up to 100 kg of hydrogen. This will be connected to a 12 MWp solar power plant. That's how it works.
The start of work should be effective around next February.
As for production, it should begin in summer 2025. “We will produce between two and ten tonnes of hydrogen, specifies Jean-Gabriel Steinmetz, director of the hydrogen activity of Corsica Sole, “We then want to reinject it into the network, but also distribute it to land or maritime mobility with the example of the ship Alba.“
For this power supply operation, the transfer of energy to the maritime school ship will be carried out by a well-established circuit.
Trucks adapted to transport energy will transport the fuel in block form to the dedicated station in the Old Port of Bastia.
A project that has a cost. “We are going to mobilize approximately three million euros to build this energy production unit.”
A distribution and production ecosystem
“We are extremely proud of this collaboration, between the two of us, the planets have aligned.” Between the maritime high school and Corsica Sole, the interests of some quickly converged with the ambitions of others.
The two entities have managed to create a real distribution and production ecosystem around them. “In 2023, we realized with the ship's teams that we had a related project. The maritime high school had the project of building a ship and, we, that of producing the fuel necessary to power their boatremembers Jean-Gabriel Steinmetz, C“This is a first and we hope it's just a start.”
Just like AlbaFolell'HY was supported by the France 2030 system which aims to make France a leader in the economy of tomorrow with an overall allocated credit of 50 billion euros.
It is also part of the AlcHYmiste project which consists of the production of photovoltaic panels and the storage of hydrogen to power refueling points and future power stations converted to hydrogen.
A winning program from the i-Nov wave 11 competition of Bpifrance 2024 and selected among the nine winners from Haute-Corse.
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