Linklaters has advised Storengy and its partners on its investment in Dijon Métropole Smart EnergHy (DMSE), the first project in the hydrogen sector to receive a clearance from the French Competition Authority
Linklaters has advised Storengy, a leader in gas storage and development of renewable gases, on its investment in Dijon Métropole Smart EnergHy (DMSE), a joint venture created by Dijon Métropole and Rougeot Energie in 2019. Winner of the “Ecosystems and hydrogen mobility” call for tenders launched by the ADEME in 2019, DMSE aims to develop local zero emission mobility (no noise, greenhouse gas or particle emissions) thanks to the production of green hydrogen, and to make Dijon the first hydrogen city in France.
Linklaters has also advised Storengy, Rougeot Energie and Dijon Métropole on the competition aspects of this transaction, on what is the first clearance from the French Competition Authority for a project in the hydrogen sector.
From 2022 onwards, DMSE will allow dump trucks and buses in the French city of Dijon to run on hydrogen fuel. The hydrogen, locally produced, will come from local waste combustion, thanks to the construction of an electrolyser and the creation of two hydrogen stations.
The electrolyser will be powered from renewable electricity produced by the existing waste-to-energy unit of the city and by other local sources of renewable electricity. The first hydrogen station, which will be located north of Dijon, will be commissioned in early 2022 and will power a fleet of eight dump trucks and six light commercial vehicles. It will have a daily charging capacity of 440 kg of hydrogen, that the parties aim at doubling with the construction of an extension. The second station, located south of Dijon, will be commissioned in early 2023, to supply hydrogen to buses in Dijon, with a daily capacity of 880 kg of hydrogen, which capacity could be tripled at a later stage.
Rougeot Energie will carry out the construction work of the stations as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, before transferring the operation and maintenance of the installations to Storengy, which will offer (in addition to its financial support) its expertise and technical capacities in renewable gases.
Linklaters advised Storengy on the corporate and project development aspects with Darko Adamovic, partner and Romain Marchand, managing associate in Energy & Infrastructures, and Mehdi Boumedine, managing associate in Corporate.
Linklaters advised Storengy, Rougeot Energie and Dijon Metropole on the competition aspects with Pierre Zelenko, partner, Rahel Wendebourg, managing associate, and Pierre Garenne, trainee.
