From gas plant to hydrogen: NaTran's Alfortville site, 70 years of innovation
From the last major gas plant built in the aftermath of the Second World War to the new hydrogen test benches, the Alfortville (Val-de-Marne) site of our NaTran R&I research and innovation centre embodies seventy years of innovation. From the outset, it has been a veritable laboratory, experimenting with solutions that will shape the future of gas networks and the energy transition.
Meeting urgent post-war energy needs
"It's a place where the teams have always had the freedom to innovate", says Vincent de Laharpe, head of the site where he began his career in 1993.
And with good reason! The site's history dates back to the aftermath of the Second World War. Paris and the surrounding region are in urgent need of energy to rebuild. Between 1949 and 1956, Gaz de France (GDF) built one of the largest gasworks in Europe. Its gas production facilities are both modern and diversified: coal distillation, water gas, cracking of petroleum oils, blending of propane and butane gas and lean gas.
At the same time, from 1951 onwards, the first national transmission network was built between Blénod (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and Alfortville to carry gas from Lorraine's steelworks and coal mines to Paris, and the very first underground reservoir at Beynes (Yvelines) was connected to it. Alfortville became a strategic gas hub: the site controlled the transmission and distribution network in the Paris region.
“The spirit of the site is marked by the notion of public service,”Vincent de Laharpe
Head of the site where he began his career in 1993
A pioneering test centre
In 1957, GDF decided to set up a test centre for network equipment - a groundbreaking decision. Connected to the plant and close to Paris, the site tested and qualified the equipment needed for the development of natural gas. “The spirit of the site is marked by the notion of public service,” stresses Vincent de Laharpe. It has always been about offering solutions that serve the gas industry as a whole.
In the early 1960s, test benches were set up to reproduce real gas operating conditions: pipeline pressure, flow rates, valve operation and so on. These full-scale tests made it possible to anticipate risks, improve the reliability of installations and support the gas industry's move towards infrastructures that are both modern and safe.
Decades of innovation
Alfortville gradually became a benchmark in gas flow metering, a discipline dedicated to measuring gas flows. In the 1970s, the introduction of Venturi nozzle mass flow measurement techniques, which are particularly accurate and robust, paved the way for the development of reliable transactional metering systems and, consequently, for the growth of large-scale gas transport and industrial uses.
In the 1990s, micro-nozzles extended these developments by measuring very low flow rates, foreshadowing the domestic meters of the future.
From 2015 to 2022, the site also participated in the development of the Gazpar smart meter. "After Natran (formerly GRTgaz) took over the site, owned by Engie at that time, in 2018, a real investment dynamic was set in motion, which has made it a success today," says Vincent de Laharpe. A turning point towards the energy transition has begun and, from 2020, the site has tested the first biomethane injection stations, integrating renewable gases into existing infrastructures.
"Alfortville doesn't just respond to customer requests; our site is a source of ideas for solving problems encountered in the field,"Vincent de Laharpe
Head of the site where he began his career in 1993
Hydrogen: a new strategic chapter
A new chapter opened in 2021 with the inauguration of the FenHYx research and innovation platform, which houses static test benches dedicated to hydrogen to study its effects on the performance and safety of equipment. The programme SmHYre then strengthens its capabilities with dynamic test facilities dedicated to measuring gas flows and integrated into a measurement and calibration chain recognised at national and European level. "Alfortville doesn't just respond to customer requests; our site is a source of ideas for solving problems encountered in the field," explains Vincent de Laharpe.
A unique station in Europe
Today, Alfortville is a unique testing station in Europe. A veritable testing ground, it tests the equipment essential to the operation of gas networks. Two halls - one dedicated to network equipment, the other to flow measurement - and a laboratory dedicated to digital solutions (IoT) provide a comprehensive tool for testing the reliability and security of energy infrastructures. "For example, we are studying the transformation of test facilities for transporting CO2. We don't wait to be asked: we get things done, before needs are expressed.
In seventy years, the gas plant has given way to a laboratory for cutting-edge innovation, capable of anticipating change and supporting major energy transformations. "The site has forged a link between a proud past and an exciting future. There's still a lot to do, but we are on track," concludes Vincent de Laharpe.