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As part of the renewal of its fleet of vessels, the Occitanie Region ordered an hybrid hydrogen dredger which will be built by PIRIOU shipyard and designed in collaboration with LMG MARIN.  This first world hybrid hydrogen dredger will be equipped with HELION Hydrogen Power's marine-certified fuel cell of 200 kW.  This zero-emission will supply 100% of the energy needed during port operations and crew changes.  Copyright photo: PIRIOU shipyard HyDrOMer, drague hybride hydrogène de la Région Occitanie

Offering an innovative, local and 100% renewable digital data hosting solution, that’s the objective of ECOBIO-H2’s partners. In the heart of the city of Avignon, the eco-designed building with 40m² of solar panels was equipped in 2021 with a micro data center consuming 10 kW continuously 24 hours a day; a figure that should quickly increase. This green hydrogen pilot data center integrated in another location, funded by ADEME and ECOBIO, is the result of the commitment of various industrial and academic partners. Among the most important, ECOBIO, project leader and manager of the eco-island,a residential and tertiary building with high environmental performance. then, the company ZenT, prime contractor, in charge of the design of the micro data center and  the installation of the "hydrogen and battery" hibrid electrical storage solution.  HELION Hydrogen Power has been selected to supply its GreEnergy Box TM, a first part of the hydrogen chain which, combined with the EMS ZenT, halves the environmental footprint of the data center. Composed of a 1 Nm3/h electrolyser which produces high-pressure hydrogen and a 4 kVA fuel cell which converts the gas previously stored under pressure into electricity, this solution will provide electrical support and flexibility to the data center. In addition to its electrical support function, this innovative means of storage produces heat which will be converted by bringing hot water to the building.  

HyBarge project, launched by the company L’équipage, has two goals : To study the technical feability of integrating a fuel cell in a river barge for propulsion To demonstrate, in real conditions, the fuel cell operation in marine environment. This project is relevant for HELION Hydrogen Power. It enables to contribute to work out a « marinized » version of its fuel cell system, the FC RackTM.  

HELION Hydrogen Power has been selected by CMA CGM to test the fuel cell technology on maritime refrigerated containers. This collaboration is part of a challenge from the French Smart Port in Med program, launched with Marseille Fos, which aims to build tomorrow’s port. Integrated on a transportable platform and connected to a rechargeable gaz storage, this mobile solution will enable to store reefers in different off-grid areas in the port. It will especially allow, with time, to replace polluting diesel gensets and to enhance decarbonation of portual environments.  

HELION Hydrogen Power and the University of Corsica Pasquale-Paoli have reiterated their collaboration by launching a new stage of development on MYRTE platform. Thus, in 2021, the plateform will host new equipments in order to study the multi-uses of hydrogen. First, it will receive the new Hydrogen/Air FC Rack TM which will enhance the available power capacity, as well as lithium batteries to optimize daily storage. In addition, the platform which already generates electricity and heat, will also get cooling function thanks to an adsorption device. Finally, a hydrogen filling station will complete the existing installation to supply light commercial vehicles with on-site produced hydrogen.

This project, led by “Hydrogadz”, a student foundation of the engineering school ENSAM of Aix-en-Provence, aims at designing a clean energy boat based on the direct hybridization without converter between a fuel cell and a battery. As part of this project, HELION Hydrogen Power provided a 5 kW fuel cell module and brought its expertise in the management of Hydrogen and Hybridization, as well as in the system operation. This boat competed during the Solar & Energy Boat challenge held at the Yatch Club of Monaco from 2 to 6 July 2019. This Challenge serves as a technological showcase, putting into competition dozens of competitors who must use promising clean energy source for the boat propulsion. Regarding the outcome of the race, the Hydrogadz team won the “zero CO2 emissions”  prize.

INSUL’GRID is a Research & Development program which aims at validating a hybrid solution of energy storage and production in order to make non-interconnected areas energy-independent. A hybrid energy system including a lithium battery and a hydrogen chain (electrolyzer, fuel cell and gas storage) was implemented near Bordeaux (France). This system is connected to a 240 m² photovoltaic panels field, and a virtual wind turbine. Furthermore, a specific Energy Management System (EMS) was developed in order to optimize the operation of the whole system. As part of this project, HELION Hydrogen Power supplied the Hydrogen battery, a GreEnergy BoxTM with a capacity of 50 kW. Project in collaboration with VALOREM, ESTIA and LAPLACE laboratories. 

Funded by the European association FCH JU, the HyResponse project enabled the development of a theoretical and operational training program on Hydrogen risk for stationary and electromobility applications. This project, coordinated by ENSOSP (the French Academy for Fire, Rescue and Civil Protection Officers), based in Aix-en-Provence, is a training tool dedicated to operators exposed to hydrogen as well as the firemen. It also participates to the social acceptance of Hydrogen. HELION Hydrogen Power, thanks to its expertise in hydrogen safety, led the design works and managed the building of the platform.

In South Germany, dealing with a huge increase of photovoltaic systems number, it becomes necessary to find storage solutions enabling the stabilization of the electrical grid. That is the challenge to which the University of Erlangen, in collaboration with HELION and other manufacturers, rises. The project involves the installation of a hydrogen production system from photovoltaic panels to offer a solution for the absorption of the excess electricity in order to study the multi-use of  hydrogen (power-to-gas, electrification, mobility). Thus, HELION Hydrogen Power supplied an electrolyzer of 15 Nm3 /h operating in a range of temperature from - 5°C to + 40°C. An opportunity for HELION Hydrogen Power to demonstrate, under real conditions, the flexibility of the system and its impact on the fluctuations of the solar electricity production.

In 2012, HELION Hydrogen Power has developed a hydrogen-powered backup system connected to a data center. With a capacity of 30 kW and using the fuel cell technology of HELION Hydrogen Power, this CO2-free backup generator, offers a better reliability than conventional backup gensets and requires low maintenance. This technical innovation enables to prevent data centers and other sensitive installations from any loss of data in case of power failure.

The PEPITE project aims at establishing several hybrid architecture models of Photovoltaic / Hydrogen chain for remote site, micro-grid and grid connected applications.  Through this project, HELION Hydrogen Power first developed a PEM electrolyzer of 0.5 Nm3/h, which was then tested at the CEA headquarters. At the same time, a specific sizing tool was implemented in order to define the optimized hybridization of the subsystems according to several criteria. From these generic investigations, a field-testing at HELION Hydrogen Power’s headquarters in Aix-en-Provence enabled to validate both the architecture and the optimized sizing. Thus, the GreEnergy BoxTM (22 kW electrolyzer / 13 kW fuel cell), a demonstration process based on an integrated hydrogen chain, provided an experimentation basis for the Photovoltaic/ Hydrogen hybrid architecture coupled with batteries, in an islanding mode. This application was certified by the Capenergies competitiveness cluster and TENERRDIS.

The PAC SM project, developed by HELION Hydrogen Power in partnership with Ifremer, aims at designing, developing and testing fuel cell systems for unmanned underwater applications. Thus, a H2 /O2 PEM fuel cell developed by HELION Hydrogen Power was incorporated into a watertight tank and later in an Ifremer’s AUV to ensure its propulsion. The system was then successfully tested offshore to validate its operation, thus significantly extending AUV dive times compared to conventional battery systems.

The MYRTE experimental platform implements the coupling of solar energy with a hydrogen chain as an energy carrier for the storage of renewable energies. Labeled by the Capenergies competitiveness cluster, the project aims at studying, under real conditions, such coupling in order to solve the technical constraints related to a massive penetration of renewable energies in the insular Corsican grid. Located in Ajaccio, at the Georges Peri scientific research center of the University of Corsica, the photovoltaic power plant of 560 kW produces the consumption for about 200 households. To guaranty a continuous power supplied by the plant, HELION Hydrogen Power first installed the hydrogen chain, involving an electrolyzer (which converts electricity into hydrogen and oxygen during the hours of low consumption) and of a fuel cell (which converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity directed to the grid during peak consumption). The GreEnergy BoxTM, a fully integrated hydrogen battery, was added to the existing facilicty in 2014, bringing the total power capacity to 170 kW. This innovative solution also produces heat that can be used to provide hot water and heating for the annex buildings.

The SPACT 80 project aims at developing a hybrid fuel cell generator for embedded rail applications. As part of this project, a 80 kW fuel cell, made by HELION Hydrogen Power, was tested under real conditions on a representative rail application platform, and thus integrated into a locomotive of the SNCF (French National Railway Company). A technical achievement made possible by a several robustness tests of the technology facing collisions and vibrations.

As a continuation of the SPACT80 project, the ECCE project aims at experimenting a fuel cell generator for embedded road applications public and freight transport in city and all-terrains areas. The 80 kW fuel cell developed by HELION Hydrogen Power and a tested on a locomotive of the SNCF (French National Railway Company), was integrated into an all-terrain vehicle of DGA (the General Delegation for Armaments). A full-scale test, which enables HELION Hydrogen Power to validate its expertise in manufacturing fuel cell systems for transport applications.

The purpose of the BAHIA project was to develop a training tool of high level, enabling students to understand the theoretical principle of a fuel cell and to get familiar with its operation. The developments of this educational pack were carried out in close cooperation with teachers from the Polytechnic school and the University Institute of Technology (IUT) of Marseilles, in order to respond to the future users education and safety needs. Based on these efforts, HELION Hydrogen Power developed a prototype including a 1kW fuel cell and allowed, through its simulator, to achieve a wide range of experimentations. This fuel cell didactic bench gave rise to the industrialization of about twenty systems, used today by the students of higher education. The project was also certified by the Capenergies competitiveness cluster.

HELION Hydrogen Power delivered its first fuel cell backup power system to the CEA’s headquarters in Paris. The system, which supplies 30 kW during at least eight hours, provided backup power to the IT systems of the crisis center in case of power failure. Reliable start-up, silent and with water as the only by-product, the fuel cell offers an alternative to diesel generator. This demonstrator is the first industrial pilot of the backup power product line named MISTRAL.

This project focused on the development of a cogeneration system using PEM fuel cell technology. A micro cogeneration prototype of 8 kWh including an IDATECH’s reformer was manufactured by HELION Hydrogen Power offering 72 % overall efficiency.

The HELPS project aims at providing an alternative backup power solution to diesel facilities commonly used in public buildings particularly sensitive to power failure such as hospitals. To fully meet the needs of these buildings, HELION Hydrogen Power developed and tested a 5kW PEM fuel cell. The latter was fed by hydrogen production site by electrolysis and stored at low pressure.