A French consortium comprising solar power producer TSE and renewable hydrogen specialist Lhyfe is to take over the disused Fonderies du Poitou site in Châtellerault (Vienne), the two companies announced on Wednesday. They hope to create an industrial park with up to 300 jobs.
Renewable energies at the heart of Fonderie du Poitou Alu
One year after the definitive closure of Fonderie du Poitou Alu, an automotive subcontractor employing 290 people, the Paris Commercial Court has validated the consortium’s purchase of the land assets. This reconversion, after decontamination, will enable the buyers to develop their activities jointly on the Fonderies d’Ingrandes site (43 ha, 40,000 m2 of buildings), while TSE will take over the Oyré landfill site (35 ha) to produce 45 GWh of solar energy.
“The photovoltaic power that TSE plans to install (…) could supply electricity to the Fonderies d’Ingrandes site, and enable Lhyfe to produce green, renewable hydrogen,” reads a joint statement.
“The electricity produced will be equivalent to the consumption of the city of Poitiers”, a population of around 90,000, it says.
Other companies could join the project, with expressions of interest from an industrial logistics company and companies producing e-fuels (e-methanol and rDME). With the contribution of all the companies involved, this industrial park could create “250 to 300 jobs” for an investment of “several hundred million euros”, according to TSE-Lhyfe.
Transformation of Fonderies du Poitou: Lhyfe’s green hydrogen and TSE’s solar power for a second wind
The Fonderies du Poitou site, long a Renault subcontractor, employed 2,000 people in the years 1990-2000 before having to gradually reduce its activity. The final closure of the last site was scheduled for summer 2022.
“This is an emblematic project for the conversion of a major industrial site,” enthused Alain Rousset, President (PS) of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, hailing it as “a second wind for the employment area” of Châtellerault.
Listed on the stock exchange, Lhyfe (149 employees) began operating its first green hydrogen production site, fuelled by renewable energy sources, in Vendée in September 2021, and several other production sites are under construction in France, Germany and Sweden. TSE, meanwhile, has 17 solar power plants and in 2021 inaugurated the Marville photovoltaic power plant, the second largest in France.
