Heading towards the energy transition
With our Vallourec® New Energies portfolio, our goal is to support customers in their energy transition activities by providing expertise in materials, as well as robust products and solutions. We also aim to contribute to defining new industrial standards as these markets continue to evolve. Our objective is to derive 10% to 15% of our Group EBITDA from New Energies by 2030.
The energy transition is gaining steam around the world with strong commitment from industry players to lower CO2 emissions, produce clean energy and maintain global warming to under 2°C. Vallourec joined the momentum back in 2019 supporting its customers in researching and developing new solutions for their low-carbon activities. Since then, our offer portfolio for Hydrogen, CCUS, Geothermal and Solar energy has grown, with interest coming from new and traditional customers and new orders steadily coming in.
Vallourec is grouping its offers for the energy transition under one commercial name, Vallourec® New Energies.
For over three years, Vallourec has been leveraging its expertise in materials and connections to test and qualify its products for use in new applications, from the insulation needed in closed-loop geothermal systems to the fluctuating temperatures experienced in CO2 injection wells to the potential embrittlement caused by contact with hydrogen. Important milestones have been achieved in each activity, proving Vallourec’s role in the energy transition and resulting in a strong new offer: Vallourec® New Energies.
Hydrogen-smart
Hydrogen is a still developing but promising solution as a clean energy carrier. For the industry to achieve its potential, worldwide infrastructure must be put in place. Vallourec is able to provide solutions and pipes for hydrogen transport and storage in any quantity, from cylinder storage, to pipe containment and large underground storage. In 2022, Vallourec was chosen by Storengy, a subsidiary of ENGIE, one of the world leaders in underground natural gas storage and a key player in the development of renewable gases, to provide a complete range of tubular solutions and associated services for the "HyPSTER" project, the first renewable hydrogen storage project supported by the European Union.
Vallourec is also deeply involved in the development of new industry standards for hydrogen applications. We developed a qualification protocol validating our VAM® connections’ hydrogen sealability for hydrogen storage up to 560 bar. Vallourec is also participating in numerous joint industry projects and research programs to expand hydrogen knowledge such as as DNV’s H2Pipe JIP, Norway’s HYDROGENi research initiative and the European Commission’s HyStorIES project.
Storage of hydrogen is a pivotal component of a stable and reliable energy supply and will rely especially on vast underground caverns. On the European landscape, the Group is playing a major role in almost every salt cavern hydrogen storage project as part of its Vallourec® New Energies strategy.
In 2023, Vallourec has launched Delphy, its vertical solution for large-scale hydrogen storage. The solution is an underground system, capable of storing up to 100 tonnes of hydrogen gas under maximum safety conditions. The system is suitable for green hydrogen producers, users for industrial applications and heavy mobility. Delphy thus holds the potential to revolutionize the hydrogen value chain.
Since the launch of this solution, Vallourec has already signed partnerships with H2V, a French pioneer in large-scale green hydrogen production, and with NextChem Tech, a subsidiary of NEXTCHEM (Sustainable Technology Solutions) specializing in decarbonization technologies.
Vallourec also announced its effective membership in Dii Desert Energy, a global organization dedicated to energy in the desert regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Consequently, the Group also joins the MENA Hydrogen Alliance, a collaborative network committed to the development of green hydrogen projects across this region. Vallourec's membership in the MENA Hydrogen Alliance underscores its ambition to further strengthen its industrial and commercial performance in New Energies.
Heat-resistant
Vallourec has been a part of the geothermal industry for over 30 years, supplying heat-resistant tubulars to extract clean energy from the earth. Our latest VAM® connections are qualified up to 350°C under thermal cycles as per TWCCEP (Thermal Well Casing Connection Evaluation Protocol). In addition, Vallourec’s innovative THERMOCASE® Vacuum Insulated Tubing (VIT) is an integral part of closed-loop geothermal systems which produce heat and power with minimal losses.
In 2022, we announced an investment in GreenFire Energy Inc., an American start-up developing Advanced Geothermal Systems based on its innovative technology called GreenFire’s GreenLoop ™, of which THERMOCASE® VIT is an integral part.
In 2023, we have won an order for Fervo in the United-States and has started deliveries to its customer Eavor™, a leading Canadian company in geothermal technology, for its European geothermal project located in Geretsried, Bavaria (Germany). Vallourec and Eavor had previously collaborated on the Eavor-Deep™ Demonstration project in New Mexico, for which Vallourec supplied tubular solutions including its flagship VAM® 21 HT connection.
In 2024, in a move to foster expertise in the burgeoning field of deep geothermal systems, Vallourec is sponsoring the 2024-2025 Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Deep Geothermal System (DEEGEOSYS) at DeeGeoSys at the Centre for Hydrogeology and Geothermics (CHYN), University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. This sponsorship underscores Vallourec’s commitment to advancing geothermal energy and supporting the development of skilled professionals in the sector. The Group is also part of the 200 companies supporting the European Geothermal Energy Council – EGEC – initiative to encourage the members of the European Commission to accelerate the energy transition thanks to geothermal energy.
A conversation with Maximilien de Maisonneuve, Geothermal Director at Vallourec® New Energies
Carbon-tight
Capturing CO2 from industrial activities and storing it underground is essential to limiting global warming. Vallourec has been playing an important role in the industry by testing and qualifying corrosion-resistant material to transport and store CO2 with impurities as well as qualifying its VAM® connections’ tightness to store carbon in depleted oil reservoirs. Our VAM® connection qualification protocol tests the connection’s sealability in several pressure and thermal cycling phases with temperatures lowering to -80°C in blow-out scenarios. Customers such as Neptune Energy have already approached Vallourec to research the materials most suitable for their respective CCS projects.
In 2023, Vallourec won an order for tubes for Saulsbury in the United States and for Wintershall DEA's Luna project in the North Sea. The Group has also signed with Evonik Industries AG, a leading specialty chemical company, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of tubular solutions for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).
Tracking the sun
Vallourec supplies the solar industry with torque tubes and cold formed open profiles for the construction of solar trackers. The torque tubes run the length of each row of panels, supporting the panels and enabling them to turn to continuously follow the sun from east to west. The open profiles stand vertically on the ground and support the torque tubes at intervals. In this way, the entire tracker structure is supported by the tubes and open profiles.
