The Île-de-France region & EODev committed to air quality

The Ile-de-France Region unveiled its “New Air” plan on March 21, in which it is noted that “diesel generators generate significant levels of pollution. They are used in festivals, when shooting films, during events, and on construction sites or even for emergency back-up for buildings (hospitals, data centers, industrial sites...). There would be 22,000 of them in France...

Generators are used in situations where their polluting emissions are problematic: at festivals, on construction sites in urban areas, etc. It should also be noted that these are highly noisy. In Île-de-France, the use of generators is regulated. At the regional level, work has been carried out to allow temporary connections to the Enedis network more quickly to avoid the use of generators on worksites.

The plan mentions the desire to “promote the development and use of non-polluting generators, operating on hydrogen-based solutions or equivalent” by:

• The inclusion of “the use of non-polluting generators in the ecological bonus of events financed by the Region. »
• The addition of “this type of purchase to the list of eligible expenses for the energy efficiency check”.
• Support for “the manufacturers of hydrogen generators will be contributed to financially in order to help their development.”

It is the first region in France to announce such measures.

EODev welcomes very concrete measures that place human health at the heart of regional policy. But it is the whole process of drawing up this plan led by Olivier Blond, Special Delegate for air quality, and Yann Wherling, Vice-President in charge of ecological transition, the environment and the climate, that must be underlined, with their concern to be as close as possible to the realities, to be effective beyond announcements, a reflection in which EODEV actively participated.

Olivier Blond, Île de France Regional Councilor and Special Delegate for environmental health and the fight against air pollution, is delighted with this collaboration: "For concerts, events, filming, or emergency back-up solutions for hospitals and data centers, stationary hydrogen power generators eliminate air pollution, noise and smell, unlike generators that run on diesel or benzine. EODev thus offers valuable solutions to important issues, and proves that well-conducted innovation can protect the health of citizens, improve the environment and create jobs."

The Act II of the regional strategy in favor of air quality, the "New Air" plan is an extension of the "Changeons d'air" plan, launched in 2016. While the latter has enabled the rapid improvement for more sustainable air quality in the Ile-de-France region, the region's ambition now is to seek even greater efficiency by tackling new issues such as that of diesel generators. The objective is to halve the level of pollution compared to current regulatory values by 2030. It is also an ambitious response to a major public health challenge, at a time when the latest report from the European Environment Agency reports that more than 230,000 adults are subject to premature death each year in Europe due to air pollution ¹.

Jérémie Lagarrigue, Managing Director of EODev, welcomed the proactivity of the Ile-de-France Region in this area: "The Ile-de-France Region is one of the first public authorities to set an ambitious course for air quality, a major public health issue for the inhabitants of urban areas. We are therefore very proud to contribute to the environmental approach led by the region and welcome the creation of this bonus which opens the way to a real change in the use of generators. This paradigm shift will undoubtedly promote the development of carbon-free and emission-free events."

Much quieter than their diesel counterparts, EODev's GEH2® power generators are above all much less polluting since they only emit water and heat when in use. No CO2, no nitrogen oxides and no particulate matter. While the use of diesel generators is still the norm today for the supply of electricity in events, feedback from EODev in the field has enabled the region to measure the need to accelerate the adoption of carbon-free and silent solutions; already available on other applications such as construction sites, for film shooting or as emergency services for hospitals or data centers.

As for the support provided to the sector, EODev, a young SME established in Île-de-France in 2020 which assembles its electro-hydrogen generators in Montlhéry (91), can confirm this undertaking, the region having awarded us a grant of EUR 3 million. It will enable us to support our growth and continue our investments in favor of the development of energy solutions with a low carbon impact and without emissions.