2023-09-15 11:07:31
The Federal government will finance the construction of two test centers dedicated to hydrogen in Antwerp and Charleroi. They will be managed by the von Karman Institute.
The following stage goes further, because alongside the transport component, which notably includes a network of pipelines which will connect Antwerp to Germany via Liège, and another which will go to Charleroi, the federal government also intends profile the country as a key player in hydrogen research. The Federal thus validated this Friday a double investment in Antwerp et Charleroi for the construction of two research centers and testing. The program, entitled “Hydrogen test facility” and led by the Secretary of State in charge of the recovery plan Thomas Dermine (PS), will have a budget of 16.2 million euros, including 7.5 million from the Federal.
“These two centers will be used as shared infrastructures open to external partners such as universities, research institutes and manufacturers.”
Without going into the technical piping, behind these two test installations, it is a question of carrying out a series of large-scale research and development work around “green” hydrogen with a series of industrial players in order to lead the industry towards decarbonization. “These two centers will be used as shared infrastructures open to external partners such as universities, research institutes and manufacturers to carry out experiments,” explains Thomas Dermine.
These two demonstrators will be led by the von Karman Institutewhich is a world reference in fluid dynamics research.
According to the agenda provided by the Dermine firm, the two installations should be operational in 2027.
In Charleroi, we are banking on a new ecosystem
It has been almost two years since the von Karman Institute began searching for two sites. According to our information, he would have received 14 expressions of interest. The viability of the project also prompted those responsible to survey the needs of more than thirty companies and more than ten research institutes in Belgium.
“Today we are doing exactly the same thing as at the Biopark. We are bringing a research center and it should attract a series of industrialists.”
HAS Charleroithe center will be located at the level of the west gate, on former Carsid land classified Seveso, that is to say containing potentially dangerous substances. Located near the Sambre and a power station, the 2.5 hectare land will be connected to the future hydrogen backbone from 2028. He will form with other actors the futur district cleantech dedicated to companies active in recycling. This will be located in the middle of a 100 hectare area where the new generation Defense barracks will also be housed.
For Thomas Dermine, this step is major and bears similarities with the construction of the Biopark pole to the north of the city in the 1990s. “At the time, the Biopark was just a field. It was a bet. We brought in a research center and that’s where it all started, with the success we know today today. Today we are doing exactly the same thing as at the Biopark. We are bringing in a research center linked to green technology and it should attract a series of industrialists. This should make it possible to develop an entire ecosystem.”
Behind the Carolo research center, we will find various actors such as the glassmaker AGC for plasma analysis, the consortium BeBlue for research in the space field or specialist in renewable energy Haffner for the production of hydrogen by biomass. L‘ULB will build a combustion oven on site.
Pour Antwerp is the Seveso NextGen site who was chosen. The supply of hydrogen will be via a connection to the backbone of the network in 2026. The ecosystem will bring together players in chemistry and maritime transport such as CMB, Sirris or Atlas Copco. “Each site will have its own specificity and will receive additional funding from the Regions or the European Transition Fund,” underlines the federal government.
The summary
- The federal government has designated Antwerp et Charleroi to welcome two test centers specializing in hydrogen intended for industry.
- The two sites will be managed by theInstitute of Karman in partnership with a series of industrial players.
- In Charleroi, the center will be installed on the old Carsid site and will be at the heart of a future cleantech ecosystem.
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