Elogen, a GTT group company, has announced that its unique membrane electrolyser technology has been selected by Storengy, as part of the HyPSTER project, to store green hydrogen produced from renewable energies. Elogen will design and produce the 1 MW PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyser and will install its technology in 2022 at the Etrez site in Ain, France.

HyPSTER is a large-scale green hydrogen storage demonstrator, co-ordinated by Storengy, a European leader in natural gas storage. The company is surrounded by six other partners with complementary expertise: INERIS, Armines / Polytechnique, INOVYN, ESK, Element Energy, AXELERA.

HyPSTER is one of the first underground green hydrogen storage projects in a saline cavity to be supported by the EU. It will allow a better assessment of the place of storage in the hydrogen value chain.

The Etrez site, one of France's leading natural gas storage sites in salt caverns in terms of capacity, will rely on local renewable energies (photovoltaic (PV), hydraulic) to produce green hydrogen. The facility will allow the production of 400 kg/day of green hydrogen. This production will test the storage of green hydrogen at a level of 2 - 3 t initially until the full capacity of the identified salt cavity is used, i.e. 44 t. Experimentation with the storage of hydrogen in a saline cavity and the production of green hydrogen will start in 2023.

Jean-Baptiste Choimet, Chief Executive Officer of Elogen, comments: “This new contract represents an important step for Elogen as it positions us in storage, which is a strategic link in the hydrogen value chain. Storengy's choice of electrolysis technology developed by Elogen thus demonstrates the relevance and performance of membrane technology for producing hydrogen from renewable energies, and consolidates our collaboration with this major player in natural gas storage in Europe.

The HyPSTER demonstrator will play a key role in supporting the development of the green hydrogen economy in Europe and we are particularly proud to associate our innovative technology with this major project."

1HyPSTER: Hydrogen Pilot STorage for large Ecosystem Replication.