Introduction
A UK-France summit was held in Paris on 10 March 2023. Former
Prime Minister Sunak and President Macron agreed a bilateral
energy partnership focusing on the transition to a net zero
energy system.
The partnership included working on hydrogen. Seizing this
opportunity and aligning this with our research priorities, SIN
France brought the UK's 2 national hydrogen research hubs,
UK HyRES and UK HiACT, on board to
organise a brokerage event between the hubs and their equivalent
in France.
Reaching out to the French national
hydrogen research network (FRH2), which boasts an extensive
ecosystem of over 300 researchers and 30 laboratories, we learnt
that the FRH2 regularly holds workshops with international
researchers. However, they had not yet met with any British
networks. This was an opportunity to make introductions.
UK–France hydrogen exchange
After several preliminary online meetings between the researchers
to understand their needs and interests, on 30 January 2024 a
group of 6 hydrogen researchers from the UK national hubs crossed
the channel to embark on a 3-day programme of discovery in
France.
During their visit, they attended the French
hydrogen tradeshow Hyvolution. They visited CNRS hydrogen
hubs in the Greater Paris region (ICMPE in
Thiais, l'Institut
d'Energie Soutenable - Sustainable Energy Institute) as well
as the Ecole CentraleSupélec
at Saclay University).
Their visit culminated in a bilateral workshop at the British
Embassy Paris. French and UK researchers, joined by
representatives from the French research ministry, the CNRS, UK
Research & Innovation and Department for Energy Security and
Net Zero, presented on the UK and French hydrogen landscapes and
shared ideas for collaboration around materials, usage, and
production.
Impact
The French and UK participants made invaluable contacts through
the workshop and visits. An immediate outcome was a strong
bilateral hydrogen strand at the first Franco-British Science,
Innovation and Tech dialogue held in London in February 2024.
There will also be a follow-up UK-France hydrogen workshop in the
UK.
Longer term, the researchers intend to set up a UK-France
Hydrogen Research Working Group to explore collaboration around
sharing of research facilities, data networks, researcher
exchanges, internships, and visits, as well as joint research
funding. This will include new opportunities via Horizon Europe.
