McPhy to install hydrogen stations and electrolyser at France’s Toulouse-Blagnac airport

McPhy, a French company specialising in hydrogen production and distribution equipment, is contracted by Hyport to install a 1 MW electrolyser plant and two hydrogen refuelling stations at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport area.

The company initially announced this contract in August 2020, though the client information remained confidential. HyPort is 51% owned by Engie Solutions and 49% by the Occitanie Regional Energy and Climate Agency.

McPhy will provide design, manufacturing and integration services for both hydrogen stations and the electrolyser plant. The plan is to install one refuelling station in a private restricted zone for airport services, while the second will be deployed in a public zone. Both hydrogen refuelling stations would be able to feed all types of vehicles. The refuelling system would have dual pressure configurations (350 and 700 bar).

The hydrogen will be enough for nearly 200 vehicles, including a fleet of 4 fuel cell passengers’ buses operated by Transdev within the airport area.

The electrolyser would produce 400 kg/day hydrogen (the equivalent of 1 MW) which would feed both the refuelling stations and a supply to the nearby industrial sites. The plant is expected to be shipped by the end of this year.

McPhy offers the widest range of electrolysers ranges from 0.4 to 800 Nm3/h as standard, and beyond with multi-MW solutions, within our 1 to 30 bar pressure range. Theses electrolysers are categorised under small, large and augmented categories.

There is now increasing interest in using hydrogen in aviation application. Airbus partnered with Air France-KLM, Paris Region, Choose Paris Region and Groupe ADP to explore the use of hydrogen at Parisian airports.