The start of a more sustainable production facility to create hydrogen fuel for Ariane 6 – Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket – is underway.

Project HYGUANE – a portmanteau of the French words for hydrogen, French Guiana and the local Iguanas – is a €40.5M investment in a solar farm, distribution systems and is being designed to be allowed to easily expand in the future.

After three years of studies, the project started on 21 December 2023 with the signing of the consortium agreement between the parties involved: four companies – Air Liquide, SARA, MT-Aerospace and BEBLUE; three universities – Université de Guyane, Université de Liège, Université Libre de Bruxelles and two institutions – ESA and CNES.