Everyone (or almost everyone) knows that as a source of low carbon energy, hydrogen has great potential in cities of the future. And yet, its use is still very limited. The issue: its gaseous form, which makes it difficult to transport and store. Far from being content with this inevitability, Vincent Lome and Pierre-Emmanuel Casanova were just university students when they made a discovery that will help lift this barrier: by carrying hydrogen with a liquid vector, we can deploy it more easily (and over long distances!), we avoid the dangers of gas and we get rid of high pressure storage bottles. Thus, after 10 years of R&D, they create HySiLabs, a disruptive technology that fully meets the challenges of the energy transition.

It is this major innovation that the Grand Jury wished to award during the 5th edition of the EDF Pulse Awards in 2018. HySiLabs, winner in the “Smart City” category, marks a turning point for hydrogen to take off. Combined with a fuel cell, it could serve as an environmentally friendly “fuel” for electric vehicles and bicycles, or provide heat and electricity to eco-neighbourhoods in the cities of tomorrow. And this is not just a dream: following a fundraising earning 2 million euros in May 2018, the HySiLabs process should soon be industrialized and marketed to major players in energy and mobility. In short, a liquid affair that is quite solid to develop green energies!