• Hydromer to cut CO₂ by 25% with green hydrogen supplied from Leucate’s Hyd’Occ plant starting 2026

France has officially christened Hydromer, the first hydrogen-powered dredger in Europe, as part of the Occitanie Region’s €1 billion [$1.09 billion] transformation of the Port of Sète.

At a ceremony held Tuesday along the Quai du Maroc, regional president Carole Delga hailed the 70-metre hybrid vessel—already operational since 2024—as a flagship for clean maritime innovation.

Designed at the request of the region and built at Piriou Shipyards in Concarneau, Hydromer will support year-round port maintenance in Sète and Leucate, critical for keeping harbour entrances navigable in the wake of storm-driven sediment buildup.

“This hybrid dredger, unique in Europe, will be powered by hydrogen produced in Leucate, at the Hyd’Occ green hydrogen production plant, which is due to come online in December,” said Delga.

While the barge currently runs on diesel for propulsion and extraction, a hydrogen retrofit scheduled for June 2026 will replace part of that load with four onboard tanks holding over 1.6 tonnes of hydrogen. The new system will deliver 200kW of clean electric power for propulsion, lighting, and ventilation. “It’s like a power plant,” said Hydromer’s captain David Lenoble, who added that the vessel could outperform its projected CO₂ savings thanks to lower-than-expected energy consumption.

By cutting at least 700 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually—roughly 25% of its total greenhouse gases—Hydromer aligns with the region’s broader decarbonisation strategy, which includes port electrification efforts already five years ahead of French legal mandates. Having already extracted 450,000m³ of dredged sediment—equivalent to 150 Olympic pools—the vessel stands as a tangible step toward the “blue economy” model the Occitanie Region is advancing across its coastline.

Source:   Fuel Cells Works