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HySoW: a hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure project

HySoW: a hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure project

According to the 2023 “The French and Hydrogen” barometer prepared by Teréga and Harris Interactive, 82% of French people see hydrogen as a form of energy for the future. Teréga is helping making it accessible at a competitive price through its work on infrastructure projects such as HySoW.

3 objectives

The chief aim of HySoW is to accelerate the transition to more decarbonised hydrogen in the country’s energy mix and, in doing so, help consolidate French and European energy sovereignty.

  • To develop low-carbon and renewable hydrogen transport and storage infrastructures in the South West by 2030

  • To interconnect and decarbonise industrial and mobility hubs in the territories of Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine with flows of locally-produced and imported hydrogen

  • To bring heightened security of supply to the whole European energy system through the storage of hydrogen

Project components

The HySoW project, driven by Teréga, is a 600 kilometre infrastructure of pipelines able to transport 16 TWh/year of decarbonised hydrogen across the whole of the South West. This infrastructure will allow the transit of hydrogen in two directions – both East-West and West-East – between Marseille and Bordeaux, while supplying the territories of the greater Toulouse area, the Lacq industrial hub, and the ports of Bayonne and Port-la-Nouvelle.

As an addition to those pipelines, the project includes hydrogen storage facilities in salt caverns located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with a capacity of approximately 500 GWh GCV in 2030, and 1 TWh GCV by 2050.

500 GWh

hydrogen storage capacity by 2030

16 TWh/year

transport capacity

600 km

of pipelines: 40% converted pipelines

2

potential interconnections with Spain by 2040

HySoW: the European hydrogen backbone in the heart of the South West

As a cornerstone of the future European hydrogen backbone in the South West, HySow is destined to interconnect with the H2Med green energy corridor. It occupies a strategic position at the intersection of the two main components of H2Med: the Franco-Spanish Barcelona-Marseille (Bar-Mar) interconnection and the HY-FEN pipeline to northern France.

The HySoW project will thus be in a unique position to balance hydrogen imports with demand. With its considerable storage capacities it will help absorb any possible variations in demand, production or imports. Similarly, network access to the ports of Bordeaux and Bayonne on the Atlantic coast and Port-la-Nouvelle on the Mediterranean will facilitate future imports of hydrogen there.

The HySow project will therefore be a significant source of flexibility for security of supply in Europe.

A catalyst for the decarbonisation and reindustrialisation of the territories

The HySoW project will also be essential in stabilising local energy networks in the South West. It will participate fully in boosting the attractiveness of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions, supporting the development of new industries and the rollout of the hydrogen strategies already set in motion by those two territories.

Schedule

  • December 2022: Project of Common Interest (PCI) application submitted in the public consultation launched by the European Commission. The project has already received 37 letters of support

  • June 2023: call for expression of interest (CEI)

  • 2030: commissioning