To prepare for the eventual commercial use of hydrogen-powered aircraft, in 2021 VINCI Airports signed a partnership with Airbus and Air Liquide to develop the use of hydrogen at airports. At Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport, preliminary studies for the Mobhylys (MOBilité HYdrogène LYon-Saint Exupéry) project were completed in 2023. The project will cover a 5 MW hydrogen gas production unit, with an output of 2 tonnes of hydrogen per day, serving two distribution stations designed to decarbonise heavy mobility (city side: heavy-duty vehicles, buses, waste collection vehicles, etc., and air side: GSE, buses, handling equipment, etc.). Mobhylys will also have a 22,000 sq. metre solar power plant with a production capacity of 3 MWp. Draft agreements have also been signed with Kansai Airports in Japan and Santiago airport in Chile to study the implementation of green hydrogen to be used in airport operations. On motorways, ASF (VINCI Autoroutes) opened the first hydrogen station on the French network in the summer of 2023, at the Toulouse Sud Sud service area operated by Dyneff. The “green” hydrogen available from the station is produced locally by electrolysis of water, using electricity from renewable sources such as solar panels. This type of hydrogen is a clean, renewable energy source that can be used to power fuel cell electric vehicles.
In addition to these strategic partnerships, in 2022 VINCI Concessions participated in the funding round of H2 Mobility, raising €10 million alongside the Clean H2 Infra Fund, the world’s first low carbon hydrogen fund. As the leader in hydrogen refuelling stations for road transport in Germany with more than 90 stations in operation, H2 Mobility aims to expand its network to 300 stations by 2030.
Meanwhile, France Ingénierie Process (FIP), a VINCI Energies subsidiary, has teamed up with the HysetCo project to build Europe’s largest hydrogen production and distribution station (located on the western edge of Paris). Initiated by Hype, developer of the first integrated hydrogen mobility platform in France and operator of a fleet of some 300 hydrogen powered taxis in the Paris region, the project won over VINCI Concessions, which has invested €15 million. As part of this collaboration, VINCI Energies will build 26 new hydrogen stations for Hype in the Greater Paris area, some of which will produce hydrogen locally by electrolysis.
Environmental transition of buildings
VINCI is rolling out a growing range of offers and solutions to support the energy transition and improve the energy performance of the buildings that it builds and operates.
VINCI Construction France and VINCI Immobilier played their full part in implementing the new French environmental regulation adopted in 2020 (RE 2020). This legislation factors in the energy consumption and carbon impact of buildings based on life cycle assessment over 50 years. As a preliminary step towards this new regulation, the E+C− label for positive energy and low carbon buildings anticipates the highest standards of energy and carbon performance and goes as far as commitments to obtain environmental labels (see paragraph 3.1.3.2, “Environmental labels”, page 229).
Energy renovation for existing buildings is another growing market. VINCI Construction continues to roll out its Rehaskeen® system to meet the need for thermal building renovation (see paragraph 3.1.4.1, “Employee engagement around environmental solutions and actions”, page 230). One example is the Initia building in Ramonville-Saint-Agne near Toulouse, where Rehaskeen® panels will be installed on 142 housing units.
VINCI Immobilier has officially discontinued the installation of gas fired heating and hot water systems in its development projects and will now systematically include a low carbon concrete alternative when bidding on contracts. To contribute to the decarbonisation of energy and development of renewable energy, all new residential property developments are now required to carry out a preliminary assessment of the programme’s solar power potential and, if the potential is confirmed, to bring in a third-party investor.
An increasing number of VINCI Construction projects are covered by comprehensive performance contracts, allowing for better control of construction and operating costs. Key achievements in 2023 include the comprehensive performance contract to renovate Louis Issaurat middle school in Créteil, which was awarded Passivhaus certification. In July 2023, Urban Dumez (Building France Division, VINCI Construction) delivered the administrative complex for the city of Mulhouse under the comprehensive performance contract signed with the Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department for the design, construction, upkeep and maintenance of the site.
VINCI Energies develops software solutions to manage the environmental performance of buildings such as P2C, which optimises maintenance to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. VINCI Energies also supports the rollout of the Wave platform, which is under way at all VINCI Energies France Division sites and at those of many customers. Through energy performance contracts, VINCI Energies enabled Thales to secure energy savings of 44 GWh in 2023 and avoid 5,200 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2023. The Cobra IS subsidiary Sice is offering similar contracts at 23 of its worksites.
Low carbon energy production infrastructure
VINCI’s acquisition of Cobra IS in December 2021 has developed the Group’s expertise in the renewable energy market, in both solar and wind power. At the end of 2023, Cobra IS had a renewable energy production portfolio totalling 2 GW, including assets in operation and/ or under construction. The company plans to develop an average of 1.5 GW of additional capacity per year, with the ambitious target of achieving a total of at least 12 GW in operation and under construction by 2030. In Brazil, Cobra IS and Cymi Brasil commissioned the 570 MWp Belmonte solar power plant, with an annual production capacity of around 1,200 GWh of renewable energy (representing the annual consumption of around 723,000 homes). This renewable energy generation will avoid more than 109,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere every year. Through its company Tecneira, ProCME is currently developing a portfolio of over 1 GW of solar power plants. Cobra also builds solar power plants for third parties. In Spain, 17 such projects are under way for Galp delivering a combined capacity of 506.23 MW. Once completed, the facilities will produce around 972.5 GWh of renewable energy per year, representing the annual consumption of 221,400 homes, and will avoid the emission of more than 147,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. Cymi is in charge of building and commissioning a solar photovoltaic plant that will supply renewable energy to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, with a total installed capacity of 9.2 MW. Once completed, the plant will generate 11.7 GWh per year, covering 16% of the annual consumption of terminals 1, 2 and 3. In Portugal, Maetel (Cobra IS) commissioned the 4.5 MW Alqueva floating solar power plant, Europe’s largest floating solar farm on a reservoir. With around 12,000 photovoltaic panels and an annual production capacity of 7.5 GWh, it is expected to supply power to around 1,500 families in the region between Portel and Moura.
