Engie and WA firm advance plans to build hydrogen facility at Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminal

French utility company Engie and Western Australian technology development company Hazer Group have extended their collaboration for clean hydrogen and graphitic carbon production facility in France.

Hazer Group is undertaking the commercialisation of the Hazer Process, a low-emission hydrogen and graphitic carbon production process 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 company has now extended the existing non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Engie, which was signed in July 2022.

Under the extended agreement, Hazer and Engie will work collaboratively to prepare the Project Development Plan (PDP) for a clean hydrogen and graphitic carbon production facility based on Hazer’s proprietary technology, located at the existing LNG import and regasification terminal in Montoir-de-Bretagne in France. The terminal is owned and operated by Engie’s affiliate company Elengy.

The project is referred to as H2Montoir and the planned production facility is targeting an initial production capacity of at least 2,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of hydrogen. The produced hydrogen will be used in industrial applications and mobility.

Prior to the extended agreement, ENGIE conducted a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) on the application of the Hazer process at the existing LNG import and regasification terminal in Montoir-de-Bretagne. As part of the activities undertaken during the PFS stage, preliminary investigations established that hydrogen produced from the Hazer facility can meet the requirements for low-carbon hydrogen projects under relevant regulatory frameworks and guidelines as administered by the European Union.

The extended MoU has a term of 15 April 2024 to enable the parties to work collaboratively to develop the definitive agreements, including the partnership structure, commercial framework and licencing arrangements.

Glenn Corrie, Managing Director of Hazer Group Limited, said: “We are delighted to be progressing this project in close collaboration with Engie, a very well-respected international utility company, to realise the first Hazer production facility in Europe.

“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 prioritizing 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.”

Valérie Ruiz-Domingo, Engie – Group Hydrogen Vice-President added: “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.”