Engie taps WA hydrogen tech outfit to build production facility in France

Perth-based low-emission hydrogen technology company Hazer Group has signed a deal with French energy giant Engie on plans to build the first Hazer facility in Europe.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further progress the development of a first Hazer facility in Europe.

Specifically, Hazer and Engie will work together to deliver a development plan for a Hazer facility at the existing LNG import and regasification terminal in Montoir-de-Bretagne in France.

Owned and operated by Engie’s affiliate company Elengy, the terminal would serve as the home for the H2Montoir project with an initial hydrogen production capacity of at least 2,500 tonnes per annum.

The hydrogen produced would then be used in industrial applications and in the mobility sector.

“We are delighted to be progressing this project in close collaboration with ENGIE, a very well-respected international utility company, to realise a first Hazer production facility in Europe,” said Glenn Corrie, managing director of Hazer Group.

“Europe is a strategic market for Hazer and we are excited to be building a position with a global energy leader in a region which is prioritising climate change action and recognizing the immediate role Hazer technology can play in accelerating decarbonisation in a cost effective way.

“This collaboration with ENGIE further validates the potential of the Hazer technology and its attractiveness in the market.”

Hazer Group was formed in 2010 to commercialise its ‘Hazer Process’ technology, originally developed at the University of Western Australia, which enables the effective conversion of natural gas and similar methane feedstocks into hydrogen and high-quality advanced carbon materials.

Using iron ore as a process catalyst, the Hazer Process is expected to provide cost savings for the hydrogen producer as well as significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Much of Hazer Group’s publicly available information focuses on the use of its technology in conjunction with natural gas to create hydrogen, which would generally be termed “grey” hydrogen and thus not specifically “clean”. It nevertheless allows the company to get away with terming its hydrogen as “low emission”.

The MoU signed between the two companies only has a lifespan through to 15 April 2024, and thus the outcome of their collaboration will remain uncertain until something concrete has been announced.

Engie has already conducted a preliminary feasibility study on the Hazer Process and its potential role at its Elengy facility, which determined that hydrogen produced at such a facility would meet the requirements for low carbon hydrogen projects under relevant European Union regulatory frameworks and guidelines.

“We are glad to pursue our joint work with Hazer to develop a first industrial-scale pyrolysis production unit to support our customers in the industry and mobility sectors in achieving their carbon neutrality objectives,” said Valérie Ruiz-Domingo, vice president of Engie – Group Hydrogen.

This is the second such MoU Hazer Group has signed in recent months, following the signing of a non-binding MoU in early April with Japanese energy company Chubu Electric Power and global engineering company Chiyoda Corporation aimed at building a Hazer production facility in the Chubu region of Japan.

The planned project would eventually boast hydrogen production capacity of between 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes per annum, but would start out with an initial production capacity of between 2,500 and 10,000 tonnes per annum.