JUPITER 1000
On Thursday 20 February 2020, GRTgaz successfully injected into its network the first hydrogen molecules produced by the JUPITER 1000 Power to Gas demonstrator located in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). This is a major step in the development of solutions for decarbonising gas and its uses, energy storage, and gas and electricity network synergies. The focus over the next few weeks will be on optimising the operation of the entire production chain, from compression to injection, before beginning performance tests and technical-economic optimisation analyses of the facility.
JUPITER 1000 is the first industrial-scale Power to Gas demonstrator connected to the gas transmission network in France. This innovative technology involves converting electricity into gas, hydrogen or synthetic methane, for injection into existing networks. It thus makes it possible to recover surplus renewable electricity thanks to the huge storage and transit capacities of the existing gas infrastructures. This innovation is fully in line with Southern France’s “Une COP d’avance” (“one ‘step’ ahead”) energy policy.
JUPITER 1000 is also a vital facility for the continuation of the work undertaken by French gas infrastructure operators. In a recent report, they stated their belief that the existing networks can now accommodate a volume of 6% mixed hydrogen and up to 20% in the longer term, with moderate adaptation costs.
With an energy production capacity of five million kilowatt hours over three years, JUPITER 1000 will enable all the project’s industrial partners (the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), Khimod, Leroux & Lotz, McPhy, the Port de Marseille Fos, the French Electricity Network (RTE), Teréga and GRTgaz) to test the operation of the facility and equipment, assess the impact of hydrogen on the networks and its use in an industrial process, and consolidate the economic study based on the performances observed, thus contributing to the emergence of the Power to Gas sector in France. JUPITER 1000 is a project supported by France’s Southern Region, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency’s (ADEME) Future Investment Programme, and the EU’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).