45-8 ENERGY is a France based company dedicated to the exploration and ecoresponsible production of strategic industrial gases which are essential to the ecological and energy transition, such as helium and natural hydrogen. Our approach focusses on short supply chains enabling human size local projects targeting a nearby consumption. A unique approach in Europe !

The five founding partners of 45-8 ENERGY, eager to convert their respective expertise (geology, geophysics, financial analysis and legal affairs) into an eco-committed action, started from a strong observation: 100% of the helium consumed in Western Europe is imported from the United States, Qatar and Algeria at high energy costs and with a high carbon footprint. In 2018, this represented 31 million cubic meters, the second largest market in the world with almost 19% of consumption.

To answer the european market need, 45-8 ENERGY has been created in 2017, based in Metz and composed of a multidisciplinary team of 12 people, mainly engineers and doctors. Its innovative approach is based on the co-development of resources that can be associated with helium in certain geological contexts such as natural hydrogen or carbon dioxyde.

Helium exploration together with other associated resources is a real innovation with its own problematics. For this reason, 45-8 Energy is also conducting Research and Development projects with academic and industrial partners in order to develop effective and adapted technology to efficiently and reliably detect these resources in the near surface.

The emergence of this sector is made possible thanks to a pioneering innovative geological approach supported by strong technological innovations carried out in collaboration with academic and industrial partners. 45-8 ENERGY activity was recently acknowledged by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition which has labelled a first project “GreenTech Innovation” thus demonstrating the positive impact of such approach to the ecological transition challenges. Several of its R&D projects have also been labelled by the MATERALIA and AVENIA competitive clusters demonstrating their technical relevance.

Motivation

Following a series of geological studies that assessed the helium potential of the european subsurface, 45-8 ENERGY selected a first promising pilot project located in the Nièvre area in France and filed an application for an Exploration License (PER) Helium, Carbon Dioxide and related gases, to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition in October 2019.

45-8 ENERGY aims through the « Fonts-Bouillants » project to capture and valorize a gas rich in helium and carbon dioxide naturally escaping to the surface via four thermo-mineral sources and a major geological fault. Following an exploratory phase necessary to precisely define the potential of the area, 45-8 ENERGY target a production pilot implementation demonstrating the technical and economic viability of such an eco-committed project from 2023. This project received the “Greentech Innovation” label by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and has been selected in the “Recovery Plan for Industry – Strategic Sectors” by the French Minister in charge of Industry.

An in-depth reflection was made around the « Fonts-Bouillants » CO2 valorization which is naturally leaking from the subsurface to the atmosphere, massively contributing to the greenhouse effect and equivalent, according to the first estimates, of the annual release of about 10,000 inhabitants. Our target is to avoid transporting this valorized CO2 and to transform it on site by maximizing local synergies through a mineralization process.

To fit this new issues, joining the CO2 club seems to be  obvious for a mutual sharing and the following expectations and motivations:
Ø           Exchange with key players and share feedback
Ø           Participate in the development of collaborative projects
Ø           Carry out a technological watch on CO2 valorizationAccess and participate in key events in the sector
Ø           Access and participate in key events in the sector