GRTgaz and Mines Paris-PSL launch a joint hydrogen research laboratory: Défi H
To mark 2022 Mines Paris Research Day, GRTgaz – France’s leading gas distributor engaged in the energy transition – and Mines Paris-PSL, the major French engineering institute, have signed a five-year partnership to research hydrogen, formalised by the creation of a joint laboratory – Défi H. Designed to investigate the effects of hydrogen on structural materials, Défi H will yield new PhD projects and will enable new technological tools to be developed thanks to teams being able to work closely together.
Through its RICE Research and Development Centre, GRTgaz has maintained close relations with Mines Paris-PSL for many years now. It does so through chairs, PhDs and projects, drawing on the efforts of doctoral students, postdoctoral students, students on specialist studying for masters degrees and trainees. Recently, and after several studies into the impacts that hydrogen has on steel, GRTgaz and Mines Paris-PSL embarked on more ambitious projects: economics gas chair, Prothycol project (protecting pipes using Coldspray technology, winner of the 2018 Open Innovation awards), Precos project (repairing pipes using Coldspray technology). An industrial MESSIAH (mini tests for the in-service monitoring of structures with application to hydrogen transport) ANR chair has even been created.
It is becoming increasingly clear that hydrogen is going to have a major role to play in decarbonising industry and transport. Adapting a network for use with hydrogen by converting existing infrastructure costs two to three times less than a new network. By enabling consumption and production points to interconnect and by providing access to underground storage facilities, this dedicated network will effectively support the development of a hydrogen market in France.
With Défi H, GRTgaz and Mines Paris-PSL wish to bolster the synergies between research and training activities related to the protection and ageing of hydrogen transport networks.
The main objective of this partnership is to undertake work and joint initiatives focusing on several areas:
- detailed knowledge of the characteristics of the materials used in energy transport;
- new methods for analysing the characteristics of materials based on sampling mini sections, but without the original medium being destroyed;
- analysis of the effects of hydrogen on the materials in question;
- a study of the future prospects of gas networks and the gas economy.
GRTgaz and Mines Paris-PSL will be able to pool their research and work together on several testbeds at the Défi H laboratory. The RICE Fenhyx platform, for example, will also be made available to Mines Paris-PSL researchers who will be able to use it to create new academic knowledge. Fenhyx is a unique experimental platform used to determine the effect of hydrogen – either on its own or mixed with other gases – on metallic specimens, and under pressure.
1 ANR: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (National Research Agency)
“Research has always played a key role in GRTgaz’s business plan. This kind of collaboration allows us to share knowledge between academia and industry, and to bring researchers closer to the economic challenges that the years ahead will bring, namely developing hydrogen and transporting it by pipeline. Hydrogen is the energy of the future and it is logical that GRTgaz should surround itself with high-level researchers in order to prepare together for the energy transition of tomorrow.”
Anne-Sophie Decaux, Technical Director – Head of Industrial Performance and New Technologies at GRTgaz.
“I am very pleased with this new agreement – which further strengthens the ties between Mines Paris and GRTgaz – and underscores our commitment to the benefit of industry, business and society – in the search for solutions for the energy transition and collective progress towards a carbon neutral world.”
Vincent Laflèche, Managing Director of Mines Paris-PSL