In Cherbourg-en-Cotentin it is now possible to ride hydrogen bikes. For 20 euros per day, ten prototypes are available for rent at the Port Chantereyne, where a charging station has been installed. The scheme, called the BHYKE project, is the result of a partnership between the Manche department and a company in Biarritz and is on trial for three years.
The hydrogen train developed by the French multinational ALSTOM was presented for the first time in France at the Valenciennes site. Focus on this technology through the example of a similar train that has been running in Germany for two years. On board the train hydrogen mixes with oxygen and only water and water vapour are released into the atmosphere.
New technological and ecological era for public transport between Lens, Liévin and Béthune. Recently, hydrogen buses from the TADAO network are circulating in the agglomeration, releasing only water into the atmosphere. Drivers charge their vehicles every day at a station where hydrogen is produced and stored in metal tanks. The range is greater than that of an electric bus, but the cost remains high: 600,000 euros per unit and a price per kilometre multiplied by two.
At Sochaux, the PSA group presented its latest hydrogen prototype, the "Quark", a quad with each wheel containing a hydrogen tank that powers a small electric motor coordinated by a computer. Research is also progressing in the fuel cell sector, with the Université technologique de Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM) devoting between 1 and 2 million euros per year to the development of this technology.
On the occasion of an open day at its site in Sassenage (Isère), AIR LIQUIDE presented its fuel cell. Research is being conducted in this plant to produce green hydrogen from wind and solar energy. Explanations by Maxime Dupont, the company’s "Hydrogen-energy" project manager.