Launch of the call for interest for Fos-sur-Mer market players
GRTgaz is launching its third call for interest to the Hydrogen market, calling upon players in the Fos-sur-Mer and surrounding area to indicate their interest in participating in the creation of a low-carbon hydrogen transport network between Fos-sur-Mer and Manosque, a key vector for achieving carbon neutrality in France and Europe.
The Hydrogen Call for Interest process
During the national consultation on the renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market held in 2021 and 2022, GRTgaz was able to delineate the first ecosystems committed to the development of low-carbon hydrogen, a key tool for decarbonising industry and all forms of mobility.
This first consultation revealed the interest of players in the hydrogen vector and the associated logistics. Foremost among them are the large industrial zones and port areas.
Based on this initial mapping, territorial consultations have been taking place for several months to specify the needs of the local players and to outline the future hydrogen transport infrastructures.
The Valenciennes territory organised the first GRTgaz call for tenders in June 2022. A call for tenders was launched in turn by the Dunkirk territory in September 2022. Today, it is the players in the territories surrounding the industrial port zone of Fos-sur-Mer and Manosque who are invited to express their interest for the creation of a hydrogen transport infrastructure.
Responding to the major challenges of decarbonisation
The Fos-sur-Mer industrial port area is a high-stakes zone due to the presence of industries with hydrogen consumption potential: steel, petrochemicals, refineries or energy in order to achieve their decarbonisation objectives. The area is also favourable to the development of industrial projects based on the recovery of CO2, captured at the industrial emitters of the territory, likely to generate significant needs in hydrogen.
This future GRTgaz transport network will connect all hydrogen production, consumption and storage projects. This network could be connected in the coming years to the infrastructures of the Rhône Valley or to other hydrogen import projects.
The Hydrogen Call for Interest process
The call for expressions of interest conducted in the Manosque area and the port and industrial zone of Fos-sur-Mer is open to all market players in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, regardless of whether they responded to the first phase of the feasibility study on the HYnframed transport network.
The call for expression of interest will be divided into 2 stages:
- The first phase, non-binding, will make it possible to qualify and quantify the needs. Players are invited to state their interest on the basis of the details listed in the information memorandum available for download below. If this non-binding phase confirms the market's interest, GRTgaz will then carry out a basic engineering study and an impact study to determine the appropriate transport infrastructure and prepare the administrative application for authorisation to build and operate a hydrogen transport facility.
- Depending on market interest as confirmed during the non-binding phase, GRTgaz will define the access conditions for the various facilities (tariff, commissioning date, operational terms) and the decision conditions for their construction, in consultation with the interested parties. The aim is to launch a second phase, this one binding, of advance capacity reservation.
During the initial non-binding phase, players are asked to indicate their interest based on the elements provided in the “Information Memorandum” supplemented by the “Infrastructures Proposal” and the “Hydrogen Specifications Proposal”, which can be downloaded below.
The hydrogen transport infrastructure proposal
The hydrogen transportation network infrastructure proposed by GRTgaz will include a loop linking the production, consumption and storage projects at Fos-sur-Mer and Lavera. This future network will also connect up the Manosque storage site.
This first proposal is purely indicative. Depending on the responses of the players in the area, adaptations to this proposed route may be envisaged.
Technical specifics
Hydrogen specifications, in terms of hydrogen quality and pressure and temperature conditions, will be needed to guarantee the safe operation of the future transmission systems and ensure their interoperability.
GRTgaz proposes using the initial specifications, on an indicative basis, which are summarised in the document available for download below.