Overview

GH-Safe is a collaborative research project conducted within the LEAP-SE programme, co-funded under Horizon Europe. It investigates an integrated green hydrogen energy chain designed to improve access to reliable electricity in isolated communities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite the substantial solar resources available, the intermittent nature of photovoltaic generation limits its ability to provide a continuous electricity supply on its own. GH-Safe proposes converting surplus photovoltaic electricity into hydrogen, storing the hydrogen safely, and converting it back into electricity when needed.

The energy chain under investigation combines photovoltaic generation, electrolysers operating under dynamic conditions, hydrogen storage using Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC), and hydrogen-to-electricity conversion. The project will assess the performance of the complete chain and the interactions among its components.

Beyond technological development, GH-Safe will examine the economic, environmental and societal relevance of the proposed solution. The work is intended to identify the conditions under which this approach could support the electrification of isolated territories.

The international consortium comprises twelve partners from eight countries. Through ENERGY-Lab, the University of Reunion Island mainly contributes to solar and climate resource characterisation, climate-energy database development, photovoltaic production simulation and system sizing. The project is planned to run for 36 months.