Colas, through its subsidiaries Colas Rail (leader of the consortium), Spac and Colas France, has secured the turnkey contract to design and build a hydrogen production, storage and distribution unit in Dunkirk.

This project, known as "Hydrogen System for Electric Mobility in the Dunkirk Area" (SHYMED), is being developed by Hynamics, a subsidiary of the EDF group, in partnership with the Greater Dunkirk Urban Council and the Deposits and Consignments Fund.

With a capacity of 1.25 MW in phase 1 (until 2025), this production unit will power ten hydrogen-powered buses and waste collection vehicles near the Dunkirk Energy Recovery Centre. SHYMED is thus expected to prevent the emission of 1,137 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Colas Rail will manage the project and oversee the station's power & lighting, communications and automation activities.

Spac will be responsible for design, hydrogen network activities and the supply of critical equipment, in particular for electrolysis, compression and vehicle refuelling.

Colas France will carry out all the various earthwork, roads and utilities services, as well as civil engineering and landscaping work.

The design studies are nearing completion and the job has started, with commissioning scheduled for the end of 2024.

"This first reference enables the Colas Group to position itself as a supplier of turnkey hydrogen solutions for its customers in a promising new market that meets the challenges of a low-carbon world," says Hervé Le Joliff, Chairman of Colas Rail.

The project is part of the Greater Dunkirk Urban Council's objective to develop "low-carbon industrial zones" (ZIBAC), as part of the France 2030 investment plan.