On Friday, August 30, SEMITAN and Nantes Métropole inaugurated and put into service the Navibus H2 (also called the Jules Verne 2). It is the first French river passenger transport vessel* powered by hydrogen. This ferryman, who crosses the Erdre by connecting the shores of Petit-Port and Port-Boyer, is equipped with two 5 kW fuel cells and batteries.

The hydrogen is filled by a filling station, located in Port-Boyer.

This small hydrogen-powered catamaran was first introduced in the summer of 2017, during Hydrogen Days in the Territories. However, it required extensive testing and certification before it could be put into commercial service. SEMITAN wanted to focus on security.

Last Friday’s ceremony also allowed the passage to inaugurate the hydrogen station developed as part of the MuLTHy project. It is a water electrolysis production station, which allows the distribution of this green fuel to captive fleets to be shared. It can deliver 80 kg per day at a pressure of 350 bar. The project was submitted in 2015 as part of the FCH-JU and the H2ME2 project by SEMITAN, with EDF and EIFER.

*12 passengers and 6 bicycles, eventually 25.

Read the original French article here. In case you want to know more about the MuLTHy station and you are interested in carbon-free transport solutions, register here for a full-day excursion from Paris to Nantes.