Alternative text

ENGIE X City of Pau

BUSINESS CASE

Supplying hydrogen for an urban bus network

By ENGIE - 19 April 2022 - 10:52

Pau Urban Community awarded ENGIE the contract to supply hydrogen produced from local hydroelectricity for zero-emission urban buses. For Pau, this is another step on the way to achieving its Climate Action Plan targets.

 

Firmly committed to rolling out softer mobility solutions across a greener transport network, Pau Béarn Pyrénées Urban Community chose to adopt innovation as a way to take action to meets its Climate Action Plan targets. In December 2019, this innovation led to the launch of Fébus, the first 18-metre bus in the world to run on an integrated hydrogen cell. The eight 100% clean buses cover a six-kilometre route. The local authority called on ENGIE to supply the local, renewable energy needed to fuel the buses.

 

The ENGIE solution: combining three areas of expertise to provide a unique offer

ENGIE has been developing and operating the hydrogen station since 2019. It produces 268 kg of hydrogen a day using water electrolysis. To supply and transport the energy for these urban buses, the Group combined three areas of expertise: 

  • Experience in sustainable mobility: having built the charging station, the Group will be responsible for its maintenance over the next 15 years. 
  • Skill in carbon-free energy production: With Société Hydro-électrique du Midi (SHEM), the Group supplies Guarantee of Origin electricity to ensure that the hydrogen it produces is completely carbon free. This local hydroelectricity comes from production sites in Béarn, the Basque country and Bigorre.
  • Capacity to innovate to guarantee the origin of the energy supplied: ENGIE transports the green electricity to the hydrogen station using an innovative solution based on blockchain technology developed by its incubated start-up, TEO, or 'The Energy Origin', which traces the origin of the green energy used by the buses and evaluates its precise carbon impact.

 

The project in figures

  • A hydrogen station producing 268 kg/day by electrolysis.
  • Maintenance of the bus charging station carried out by ENGIE for the next 15 years.
  • 8 urban buses fuelled at 8 distribution points.

 

"Creating a sector of excellence in hydrogen mobility is a strategic priority for the Urban Community and is perfectly in line with the government's ambitions. By calling on ENGIE Group, we benefit from an experienced partner committed to developing local and renewable energy sources."  
François Bayrou, President of Pau Béarn Pyrénées Urban Community.

 

"This exemplary project in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department deploys the full range of ENGIE Group's expertise in carbon-free mobility solutions."  
Eric Sarrazin, Regional Director ENGIE Nouvelle-Aquitaine.