Spain, a booming market

Considered a strategic market in strong expansion, hydrogen is attracting growing interest in Spain. ‘Our experience in refinery and energy engineering gives us a solid foundation for meeting the challenges of this sector,’ explains Mike Sabina, Director of Industry and Energy at SEGULA Spain. The Spanish teams are involved in the design of production units for ammonia, a hydrogen derivative used in industry and as an energy carrier.

Despite the complexity of development, linked to the still high cost of production and an evolving regulatory framework, the market remains buoyant and offers many opportunities.
‘Hydrogen is progressing every year and represents significant potential. SEGULA Spain is preparing to support this growth and seize opportunities as the market takes shape,’ concludes Mike Sabina.

1 – Producing hydrogen in a clean way

Electrolysis of water, extraction from biomass or recovery of hydrogen in industrial processes… SEGULA is working on environmentally friendly production methods to generate so-called ‘green’ hydrogen. The aim is to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs and design production plants and generators adapted to future needs.

2 – Storing and transporting hydrogen

As hydrogen is a light and voluminous gas, its storage and transport require innovative solutions. SEGULA is developing various techniques to optimise the energy density and safety of systems. This work makes hydrogen easier to handle, transport and integrate into industrial and mobile applications.

3 – Developing the technologies of tomorrow

SEGULA’s projects are not limited to production and storage. The group also designs fuel cells, electrolysers and battery systems, while having advanced tools for sizing complete chains, test benches and test protocols. This expertise makes it possible to combine reliability, performance and safety, while anticipating the challenges of the energy transition.

Focus on the Badevel sustainable city demonstrator

Since 2022, SEGULA France has been supporting the municipality of Badevel (Eastern France) as part of the Banque des Territoires Sustainable City Demonstration Programme. The aim is to make Badevel a concrete testing ground for the energy transition, particularly in the area of hydrogen mobility.

Converting a municipal utility vehicle into a hydrogen-powered vehicle

SEGULA’s teams worked on the preliminary design, studying how to convert a municipal utility vehicle into a hydrogen-powered vehicle (vehicle dimensions, analysis of different solutions for integrating a fuel cell, consideration of supply logistics). To better understand the actual requirements, the engineers equipped an electric utility vehicle with sensors to record its daily energy consumption, and with a data collection centre.

This data provided a clear picture of its use and identified hydrogen requirements. The teams then conducted road tests and demonstrations to test the solutions in real-world conditions, verify their feasibility and estimate the costs of a future municipal hydrogen fleet.
The tests conducted in Badevel demonstrated the full potential of hydrogen for local mobility. By combining a lithium-ion battery of around 10 kWh with a 3.5 to 6.5 kW fuel cell, the engineers succeeded in tripling or quadrupling the range of a small electric utility vehicle.

The result: a range of up to 300 km, compared to around 60 km previously, with an average consumption of just 0.4 kg of hydrogen per 100 km. Thanks to this hybridisation, the vehicle maintains its performance while reducing the frequency of electric recharging. The simulation software developed by SEGULA has optimised energy management between the battery and the fuel cell to ensure stable and efficient operation.

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