In partnership with the University of Corsica and the French Nuclear and Alternative Energies Commission, the Hydrogen & Energy Storage of AREVA inaugurated on January 9th the MYRTE platform at the University of Corsica site in Vignola, close to Ajaccio.
MYRTE platform aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a solar energy storage solution using hydrogen technologies to mitigate the fluctuations of solar power generation, and contribute to securing Corsica’s power grid.
After more than two and a half years of work, the 560 kWc photovoltaic power plant was connected to an innovative energy storage system developed by AREVA, made of an electrolyzer, hydrogen and oxygen reserves, and a fuel cell.
MYRTE has been running connected to the Corsican electrical grid since December 16, 2011: a first in Europe and worldwide in this power range.
“The MYRTE platform allows us to get out of the laboratory and test our technology in a real environment. It is our first installation at this maturity level, connected to the electricity network. This day is the beginning of a new chapter for the BU: we will now on be in operational exploitation of such systems.” says Jérôme Gosset, Vice President of the H&ES BU, “
The H&ES BU objective is now to work out progressively the most successful operation modes to integrate decentralized renewable electricity into insular grids, while contributing to secure them.
AREVA will continue investing in MYRTE: The Hydrogen & Energy Storage activity will install by 2013, within the framework of MYRTE phase 2, the next generation of hydrogen systems to increase the current platform hydrogen system power: the Greenergy Box a containerized integrated hydrogen system, based on hydrogen technologies currently implemented in MYRTE.
The MYRTE platform based on hydrogen technologies fits perfectly with the group strategy which is to provide electrical production technologies, nuclear and renewables, with extremely low CO2 emissions.
