2021 retrospective: proof by example

Following last year's development and presentation of the pre-series of our flagship GEH₂® and REXH₂® electro-hydrogen power generators, as well as the first substantial fundraising campaign to implement their industrialization and commercialization, 2021 proved a year to scale up EODev's strategy; a phase confirmed, validated and reinforced by the investment of Toyota Motor Europe into our young startup in April 2021.

A year of transition towards industrial maturity which anticipates the next development stages expected from 2022, 2021 witnessed several significant events connected to numerous concrete demonstrations of the potential of our electro-hydrogen group GEH₂® to power off-grid applications with clean electricity.

First, there was a superb light scenography adorning the Eiffel Tower with the colors of a sustainable world, developed with the Magnum agency as part of the Energy Observer exhibition "Le Paris de l'Hydrogène" at the end of May, which proved a landmark event well beyond the French borders. For the first time in 130 years, it was a low carbon alternative solution that enabled the illumination of the most visited monument in the world.

There was then, on three occasions, the presence of the GEH₂® in connection with the automotive sector. The GEH₂® first demonstrated its relevance in supplying electricity to major events, such as the French Formula 1 Grand Prix at Le Castellet, as part of the “Smart & Sustainable Mobility” forum, then by supplying energy for the 24 Hours of Le Mans fanzone. A demonstration of its relevance for other uses, the GEH₂® also recharged the batteries of Toyota Motor Europe's latest 100% electric models during its annual conference in Brussels. A first for this application, which will experience unprecedented development in the years to come.

It did not take more to convince large French leaders in their fields of activity such as LOXAM and GL events to make the shift and acquire GEH₂® to drive energy transition towards carbon-free solutions for their customers or for the electrification of off-grid events.

This led to the first zero-emission construction site to be fully supplied with electricity generated by the GEH₂® in the heart of Paris at the end of the year; a significant environmental development for a pollution-heavy sector which now has an alternative to substitute its polluting, smelly and noisy diesel units with low-carbon, clean and silent electro-hydrogen units. This demonstration, which made it possible to test the GEH₂® in real operating conditions and duration, was carried out without a hitch. It anticipated the delivery of the first units of the GEH₂® electro-hydrogen production series power generators at the beginning of 2022 from the EODev production line on the Eneria site in Monthléry.

In France, at the end of May 2021, EODev and Hynova Yachts validated their technological partnership with the launch of The New Era, the Hynova 40 demonstrator and the world's first approved pleasure boat equipped with the REXH₂® onboard power generator ; an innovation in the history of yachting, which announces Hynova's zero-emission electro-hydrogen hybrid series boats scheduled to be deployed from 2022. Hynova Yachts' Sea Show, in June and July, between Marseille and Monaco, has thus demonstrated the multiple possibilities of the use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of both pleasure craft and maritime transport.

This first demonstration also proved how our solutions already exist, are viable, operational and efficient, and are no longer medium or long term engineering projects. From the yacht shows in Cannes and Monaco to METS, the boating equipment manufacturers' show in Amsterdam, or the Electric & Hybrid Marine Mobility forum, to the set-up of a complete ecosystem during the Hydrogen Days of the Var Chamber of Commerce in Toulon in June, as well as during the Assises Nationales de la Mer in Nice in September when the GEH₂® supplied carbon-free electricity to vessels berthed by the quayside, EODev's solutions proved many times that eco-responsible and reliable alternatives to diesel already exist, and that that the decarbonization of the operation of ships and compensation for the lack of electrification of docks in ports and marinas is not a mere dream. With, as a result of such achievements, the recognition of our peers during the Monegasque "Smart & Sustainable Marina" forum and the presence of REXH₂® as a finalist of the METS DAME Awards.

In parallel, the Fountaine Pajot group had already validated in the spring of 2021 the integration of REXH₂® on board its Samana 59 cruising catamarans to provide on-board energy, with a first pilot project meant to leave the yard in 2022 to be presented at year-end boat shows; and, in the same spirit, EODev, associated with NepTech, was the winner last April of the call for innovations in mobility for the "Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games", with the design of river shuttles equipped with propulsion systems integrating REXH₂® technology. Other pieces of evidence that tomorrow's world is being prepared today.

Now with a team of nearly 60 people who bring together all the skills necessary for its technological, industrial and commercial development, EODev will take advantage of 2022 to continue to offer new solutions for the construction of low-carbon alternative energy ecosystems — thanks also to its team of energy specialists, Energy Designer, and through the STSH₂ mobile refueling station project and H₂ 360 application.

The coming year is also the sign of a new phase and other significant advances. The many successful demonstrations have spurred the first collaborations to multiply the potential of our GEH₂® and REXH₂® internationally, in Europe of course, but also in North America and Australia, thanks to the recent signature of collaboration agreements with Aspin Kemp & Associates and Blue Diamond.

The roadmap has been drawn up, industrialization is underway, the first deliveries are in the pipeline, but the solutions provided by EODev, and by the entire Energy Observer group, to accelerate the clean energy transition are still only in their early days, with many more projects to materialize in 2022 and beyond... Watch this space!