• The metropolis of Lille plans to install a hydrogen production station in the municipalities of Lomme and Sequedin.

  • The ambition is to supply 42 new buses and 5 new dumpsters with so-called “renewable” or “clean” hydrogen by 2026.

  • The first hydrogen dumpster entered service in France, at Le Mans, in Sarthe, in September 2021.

Will hydrogen be the energy of tomorrow?

The metropolis of Lille (Mel) is convinced of this, to the point of planning the installation of a production station in the municipalities of Lomme and Sequedin, near the bus depot and the household waste collection point.

The stated ambition is to supply 42 new buses and 5 new dumpsters with so-called "renewable" or "clean" hydrogen by 2026.

“We are taking a further step in the implementation of a territorial hydrogen ecosystem”, announces Damien Castelain, president of Mel, in a press release.

The development of this service should strengthen the energy autonomy of the fleet of 450 buses, which already run on gas produced by the organic recovery center (CVO) in Sequedin.

A first at Le Mans in September

If hydrogen buses are already widespread throughout France, we are far from the same development concerning garbage trucks.

Nevertheless, the metropolis of Dijon, in the Côte d'Or department, has also planned to green its fleet of garbage trucks by switching to hydrogen vehicles, from this year until 2026. The thermal engines are replaced by electric motors.

But it was in September 2021 that the first hydrogen dumpster entered service in France, at Le Mans, in Sarthe.

Less noisy, the machine costs, on the other hand, 3.5 times more expensive, reports France Bleu.

Asked, moreover, about the cost of manufacturing hydrogen, the MEL, for its part, remained silent.

We have simply learned that this production plant must become operational in 2024 and will be managed by a company called Hyléos, with the company Engie as a partner.

The construction of the infrastructure will require an investment of 12 million euros, with strong public aid at stake.

“Development of a territorial economy”

“The interest of this project is to allow the development of an economy of the territory and to avoid the import of energy.

We know that in the next twenty years, the cost of fuel will continue to increase”, testifies Stéphane Baly, elected (EELV) at the MEL and energy specialist.

If the ecologist sees this energy shift in a positive light, he is worried, on the other hand, about the side effects.

“The downside is that this hydrogen manufacturing center should not become waste bait, or serve as a justification for not reducing waste,” he explains.

Because the metropolis is in tow on this waste policy.

The tonnage collected remains far too high.

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  • Lille

  • Hauts-de-France

  • energy

  • Fuel

  • Recycling

  • Transport