Hyguane: towards low-carbon hydrogen for Europe’s Spaceport

Hyguane – a portmanteau of the French words for hydrogen, French Guiana and the local Iguanas – is an ambitious project led by the European Space Agency (ESA) with French space agency CNES and industrial and academic partners to develop a low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem at the Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Julia Talamoni, energy transition engineer for the Hyguane project explains, “The Hyguane project aims to produce low-carbon hydrogen to fuel Ariane 6. Currently, the hydrogen in use is produced in French Guiana from methanol steam reforming. This process produces high amounts of carbon and requires significant external heat and methanol, making the spaceport dependent on external supply.

“The Hyguane project is part of a broader initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of space activities and works towards strengthening the sovereignty and autonomy of European access to space.”