As announced in the recent December 2023 edition of MNM, GDRF has become a new member of IFRF through the French Flame Research Committee (Comité Français).  On behalf of IFRF, I am delighted to welcome GDRF to the IFRF family and look forward to working with them.  Stéphane Hody, Chef de Produit Hydrogène (Hydrogen Product Manager) has kindly provided some background information on the company and the motivation to join IFRF:

GRDF has decided to join the international combustion group IFRF (International Flame Research Foundation) to increase its expertise in hydrogen combustion.

Established in 2007, GRDF is an independent subsidiary of ENGIE, which consolidates gas distribution activities in France. As Europe’s leading gas distributor and one of the world’s top 3 operators, GRDF distributes natural gas to over 11 million customers every day, for heating, cooking, mobility, no matter who the supplier is. GRDF designs, builds, operates, and maintains Europe’s largest distribution network (202,759 km) across more than 9,500 municipalities, while guaranteeing the safety of people and property, and ensuring the quality of delivery.

Convinced of the importance of gas infrastructures in the ecological transition and in helping to achieve carbon neutrality, GRDF has been investing for several years in the development of renewable and low-carbon gases.

Looking ahead to a mature hydrogen market, GRDF is already building up expertise on the equipment, materials and the practices needed to operate 100% H2 networks by 2030, with first demonstrations in the field starting from 2026. Hydrogen applications are also being investigated in this context, in partnership with manufacturers and research centres.