Draft:HELION Hydrogen Power

HELION Hydrogen Power is a French manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells. The company manufactures stacks using the "Proton Exchange Membrane" (PEM) technology. The systems are designed and manufactured in its factory in Aix-en-Provence. These systems can provide power for stationary applications, as well as for the hydrogen mobility markets (rail, maritime and other land-based mobility).

The company was created in 2001.. . It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the ALSTOM Group since April 1st, 2021.

History
The company was created in 2001 by TechnicAtome to develop hydrogen fuel cells to provide energy to submarines.

Main dates :


 * 2001: Creation of the company, and development of an anaerobic H2/O2 technology and a first fuel cell prototype ,


 * 2007: Deployment of a 30 kW back up power unit for the CEA (Atomic Energy Commission),


 * 2009: Testing of a battery for the propulsion of an AUV (Autonomous Underwater vehicle),


 * 2009: Integration of a fuel cell on a locomotive, the first in Europe


 * 2012: First system to fully integrate both an electrolyzer and a fuel cell, the Greenergy BoxTM


 * 2012: Inauguration of the MYRTE platform. Energy storage platform using the hydrogen vector and HELION’s electrolysis and fuel cell technologies


 * 2014: Creation of AREVA H2Gen, a HELION subsidiary dedicated to the manufacture of electrolysers


 * 2015: HELION launches the HyResponse project to set up the European training platform for hydrogen emergency response, in partnership with the ENSOSP


 * 2016: HELION installs the Insulgrid energy storage platform in Bègles, in partnership with VALOREM


 * 2020: GTT acquires AREVA H2GEN which becomes ELOGEN


 * 2021: ALSTOM acquires HELION Hydrogen Power

Technology
The company designs and manufactures hydrogen PEM fuel cells. It designs and manufactures the technological core (the stack of electrochemical cells) thanks to its expertise in electrochemistry and collaborated with scientific laboratories like Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d'Energie and CEA Liten.

The company offers high-power, long-life systems, thanks to a graphite-composite technology that allows for 25,000 hours of operation at nominal power. It also produces containerized systems including several modules delivering more than 2MW, as well as turnkey solutions.

The company has worked on the compatibility of hydrogen fuel cells with methane reformers, for example during the COREPAC project in partnership with the Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Systems Laboratory (LE2S).

Acquisition
Until 2021, the company was a subsidiary of Areva Renewable Energies. In April 2021, the company was acquired by ALSTOM. The company has deployed energy storage projects and among them the MYRTE platform, in collaboration with the CEA LITEN, the University of Corsica-Pascal-Paoli and the CNRS.

On December 10, 2021, the company introduced a new hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing capability. The facility was equipped with a robotized assembly line. This enabling the company to manufacture up to 800 stacks per year, the equivalent of 30 MW of power.

On March 8, 2022, the French Minister Bruno LE MAIRE announced that ALSTOM was one of the companies to be selected in the Projects of Common Interest (IPCEI) hydrogen program

On April 1, 2022, HELION signed a contract to supply a 200 kW fuel cell to equip a dredger, built by the PIRIOU shipyard, and to be operated by the Occitania region. The ship will not emit any greenhouse gases when docked and will have a reduced environmental footprint once in operation at sea. It will be the first dredger in the world equipped with an hydrogen fuel cell