Lab: Hydrogen refueling: a first on the Atlantic!

At the Navexpo trade show in Lorient at the end of May, we used a hydrogen refueling trailer. Not for a bus. Not for a warehouse. For a hydrofoil boat.
And it wasn't just a simple logistical operation; it was a first on the Atlantic!

"Thanks to FETIS Group and its partner Argo-Anleg GmbH, we were able to refuel our HSV using a mobile hydrogen refueling station.
We brought in four 13-kg hydrogen cylinders, for a total of 52 kg of hydrogen at 200 bar. AND we used the mobile station to compress and then fill the HSV's tanks so that it could carry out its tests."

Étienne ROCHON du VERDIER and Léo Chapalain, respectively Hydrogen Manager and Operations Manager at K-Challenge, managed the entire chain:

• from reception to compression
• from storage to refueling
• from the safety protocol to final authorization

“Following training provided by Argo-Anleg GmbH on how to use the station, we did everything ourselves. And now we know what it involves.”

This operation took place in a context where regulations are still lacking because the use of hydrogen is new.

"We therefore developed a protocol with DREAL, the Quality, Health, Safety, Environment, SEM Kéroman, the Ports Department, the Prospective, Economy, Environment and Operations Department, and the Environment Department for the Brittany Region, and the Port Commander of Lorient, who was convinced and signed the authorization under these specific safety conditions.
This collective effort is in line with the strategic development of our partner Lorient Agglomération and enables an entire ecosystem to move forward."

What we tested was the future:
• Mobile hydrogen stations
• Secure operations
• Concrete maritime uses
• And above all, a clean molecule: carbon-free hydrogen from renewable sources.

“This is just the beginning! But it proves that the transition is possible, here and now.”