Occitania will get significant funding that will benefit two businesses.
The French State has made carbon-free hydrogen one of its top strategic goals by establishing it as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI). A total of 2.1 billion euros will be used to assist 12 projects financially. Concerned are Genvia in Béziers and Alstom Transports in Tarbes, two Occitanie businesses.
Unrealistic plans
Make room for hydrogen after batteries and nanoelectronics. The Fourth Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in Europe, “Hy2Tech,” was approved by the European Commission on Friday, July 15. For a total of 5.4 billion euros on a European scale, the goal is to promote research and innovation as well as the first industrial deployment of hydrogen.
This project “is expected to contribute to the development of important technological advances, including new high-efficiency electrode materials, more efficient fuel cells, and innovative transport technologies, among which hydrogen mobility technologies are deployed for the first time,” according to a press release from the European Commission.
According to the European executive, 20,000 new direct employment should be generated.
Leading the charge: Alstom
One of the ten initiatives backed by the French government is Alstom, a Tarbes-based company. Alstom already holds the top position in the world for intelligent and sustainable transportation.
The futuristic train
Without stopping for fuel, the Alstom-designed Coradia iLint train covered the 1175 kilometers from Bremervörde to Munich in Germany in September. Only water vapor and very little noise were produced during the journey by train. Henri Poupart-Lafarge, then-CEO of Alstom, expressed his satisfaction at “becoming the first manufacturer in the world to provide a passenger train based on hydrogen technology” at the time.
