The latest General Assembly of the French Committee of the IFRF (Comité Français) was held on Wednesday, November 27th, 2024, at ENGIE-CRIGEN in Stains. This brought together leading experts in the field of hydrogen combustion research and industrial decarbonisation. The meeting featured compelling presentations on innovative topics such as the Large Eddy Simulation of large-scale hydrogen deflagrations, a 100 kW hydrogen burner test, and high-performance computing as a tool for industrial decarbonisation.

As usual, presentations are available on request, with key highlights from the meeting including:

• Cédric Mehl of IFP Energies nouvelles discussing thermo-diffusive instability modelling
• Stéphane Hody from GRDF presenting on hydrogen and H2/GN burner tests
• Quentin Douasbin from CERFACS providing insights into high-performance computing
• Karine Truffin from IFP Energies nouvelles showcasing numerical simulation of a laminar hydrogen burner
• Sébastien Caillat from Fives Stein highlighting the development of a gas/hydrogen burner for reheating furnaces under the EU-funded Twinghy Project

The event concluded with an insightful tour of the CRIGEN lab platforms, guided by Philippe Buchet and Ludovic Ferrand from ENGIE. This tour offered attendees a glimpse into cutting-edge research and applications in the energy sector, including hydrogen. CRIGEN Lab is one of the IFRF PRPs, our preferred research partner network offering combustion test facilities and  capabilities to our IFRF members and supporting organisations.

The assembly also marked the last meeting with Claude Prebendé from TotalEnergies, who bid farewell to his colleagues as he is set to retire soon. Claude has been a very active and stimulating participant in the committee, organising significant visits such as the first carbon capture boiler in Lacq in 2012 and a scale-one gasification pilot in Dunkirk in 2018. Throughout his career, Claude has made remarkable contributions to the field of industrial combustion, pioneering decarbonisation technologies. His dedication and expertise have been invaluable to the committee and the broader energy community. His legacy will continue to inspire future advancements in industrial combustion.