Renault see the future of vehicles as carbon-free through hydrogen production from renewable and nuclear resources. An advancement towards achieving this is being realised through a technological innovation that has evolved into a partnership company.
The company has announced a new step in the production of hydrogen-powered vehicles. This is in keeping with Renault’s commitment to decarbonisation and promoting cleaner vehicle technology (a process that began in 2005).
The green energy company HYVIA has introduced its first electrolyzer in its plant in Flins, France. The company is a joint venture between Renault Group and Plug, a firm dedicated to hydrogen mobility, developing hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions.
An electrolyzer works on the basis of electrolysis, the process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen and oxygen are generated in the electrolysis module as a result of the direct current delivered by the power supply.
The electrolyzer at Flins plant is located in the Ile-de-France region. The one megawatt electrolyzer has a capacity of 400 kilograms per day of green hydrogen production, which is the equivalent of 20,000 kilometres of commercial hydrogen mobility.
Developing the electolyzer was technically challenging. The electrolytic hydrogen production plant required a number of sub-systems to guarantee the success of the process.
The specific technology is termed PEM (an acronym for Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysis. This is a method of producing green hydrogen through the electrolysis of water by separating hydrogen and oxygen with low carbon electricity.
PEM electrolyzers contain a proton exchange membrane, based on a solid polymer electrolyte. As an electrical current is applied to the cell stack during water electrolysis, the water splits. The hydrogen protons proceed to pass through the membrane to form hydrogen on the cathode side of the electrode.
The new device will initially supply the plant in order to test the fuel cells of the Renault Master H2-TECH vehicles marketed by HYVIA as well as the hydrogen refuelling stations.
With the announcement, Olivier Cormier, VP Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director HYVIA said: “his is a major industrial and human challenge, made possible by the strength of our collaboration with Plug and Renault Group. As such, our electrolyzer is part of the development of skills that HYVIA brings to the Renault Group Refactory in Flins, dedicated to the circular economy.”
The new electrolyzer process represents a step towards the deployment of HYVIA’s intended ecosystem for hydrogen vehicle mobility.
