For a two week period in December, the island of Ushant experimented with the production of hydrogen from a Tidal Energy Converter (TEC). It was supplied by the company Sabella (based in Quimper). A 100% Breton project.
Ushant is not connected to the electricity grid and wishes to produce its own local energy* without fossil fuels. Hydrogen is one way to do just that. As part of the European ICE (Intelligent Community Energy) project, coordinated by Bretagne Développement Innovation, a test was conducted with the companies Sabella, H2X Ecosystems and H2Gremm.
Hydrogen produced from a TEC
The hydrogen, obtained by electrolysis, used renewable electricity was had been generated by a Tidal Energy Converter. This model, called D10, was first tested in 2015 and was used again in spring 2022 following some technical improvements. As Sabella points out, it is the first machine to have injected electricity into the French grid. It covers 49% of the island’s electricity needs. As for H2Gremm, it has installed a hydrogen production and storage plant with a power of 3 kW.
The use of this green energy was done through hydrogen bikes, lent by the company Pragma Mobility. For the occasion, recharging stations were installed in Arlan (the island’s port).
France 3, a French public television channel, devoted a report to this test, you can click here to watch the video (in French).
*The island has set itself a strong objective: to produce 50% of its consumption from renewable energies by 2023 and 100% by 2030. For the past five years, Ushant has been experimenting with cutting-edge technologies, new modes of production or storage of low-carbon energy and intelligent energy management with the help of the inhabitants. This approach is partly based on the European Interreg Manche ICE (Intelligent Community Energy) project.
Do you want to learn more on hydrogen produced offshore? Then our latest article on the subject should interest you. You can read it here.
Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King
