Akuo Energy, the leading French IPP in renewable energy, and Atawey, French manufacturer of decentralised hydrogen refuelling stations, are to deploy 33 refuelling stations in urban and suburban areas of Paris and other French towns and cities, before expanding the project across Europe. These stations will provide fuel for 400 hydrogen-powered vehicles for JCDecaux, Galeries Lafayette and other pioneers in zero-emission urban mobility.In February 2017, the European Commission, via its Innovation & Networks Executive Agency (INEA, the agency in charge of European transport networks) and under the impetus of EU Commissioner for Transport Violetta Bulc, launched the “CEF Transport Blending MAP Call” to finance innovative and sustainable projects to modernise European transport infrastructures. This call for proposals is in line with the European Commission’s intention of providing its citizens with sustainable mobility solutions and its 2050 decarbonisation strategy.Akuo Energy (project coordinator) and its partners Atawey, JCDecaux and Galeries Lafayette have been selected in the “Innovation” category with Last Mile, a project enabling the wide-scale deployment of a network of green, compact and decentralised hydrogen refuelling stations. In this respect, they will benefit from a European Union subsidy of €7 million.The massive adoption of hydrogen solutions by towns and cities wishing to adopt increasingly ambitious policies to reduce air pollution requires the development of a decentralised refuelling infrastructure enabling a comprehensive network to be established. The Last Mile project meets this challenge with a wide-scale deployment fuelled by green electricity supplied by Akuo Energy, guaranteeing an affordable and stable hydrogen price. More than 400 hydrogen-powered vehicles will enable 1,182 tonnes of CO2 to be avoided per year. Thus, over a 15-year project life cycle, the reduction in CO2 emissions will be almost 35,500 tonnes.For this project, Akuo Energy naturally chose to work with Atawey, a longstanding player in the development of decentralised hydrogen solutions that are 100%-green, as they produce hydrogen on site from renewable electricity. Atawey will provide the experience gained through 11 stations equipped with electrolysers and the first high-capacity station for the Zero Emission Valley project in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.With Last Mile, JCDecaux, the number one worldwide in outdoor advertising and in street furniture with a presence in more than 80 countries, is implementing the transition of its fleet to hydrogen-powered vehicles. As a partner of the Last Mile solution, JCDecaux is striving to make zero-emission mobility possible for its multi-profession agents, in addition to the electric vehicles already used for the regulation of the 4,000 Vélov’ bikes in Lyon and the maintenance of its 400 automatic public toilets in Paris. The Group will also provide the project with its expertise in terms of design and its operational excellence in the deployment of service-oriented furniture in urban areas.The final segment of goods transport, called the “last mile”, is a real challenge for distribution chain players. As a partner of the Last Mile solution, the Galeries Lafayette group, which supplies its Paris stores from its warehouses in the Paris region, has chosen to ensure the transition of its vehicles to zero-emission mobility.Eric Scotto, Chairman and Co-founder of Akuo Energy, tells us: “This partnership is another milestone for Akuo Energy, whose aim is to make renewable energy available to all. This operation will allow Akuo and its partners to give local regions a certain level of autonomy over mobility. It is thanks to carbon-free and decentralised hydrogen and to the complementary areas of expertise of each Last Mile player that we are currently moving towards an agile territorial transition”.Jean-Michel Amaré, Chairman, CEO and Co-founder of Atawey, adds: “With Last Mile, hydrogen-powered mobility is scaling up and entering a wide-scale deployment phase. A longstanding player in hydrogen technologies, Atawey is reaffirming its status as a major player in decentralised hydrogen-mobility infrastructures to cover every region of the country. Atawey and its Last Mile partners are very pleased to have this opportunity to take practical action to meet the challenges of the ongoing energy revolution we are facing”.Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “Through Last Mile, JCDecaux is continuing to implement its innovation strategy that aims to facilitate sustainable urban mobility, and is broadening its field of action via a project that, in many respects, has the same characteristics as its self-service bikes that have revolutionised the way people get around in 70 cities around the world: decentralised infrastructures, dense network, affordable prices, ease of use and low environmental footprint. Alongside our partners, we are delighted to be a stakeholder in this wonderful project that will meet the expectations of a substantial number of urban areas”.French company Atawey (Anytime, Anywhere, Energy), based in the Savoie Technolac industrial area near Chambéry in the French Alps, designs and manufactures decentralised hydrogen energy solutions. Co-founded in September 2012 by Jean-Michel Amaré (Chairman and CEO) and Pierre-Jean Bonnefond (Managing Director), the Company is the result of many years of R&D and experiments in hydrogen and energy technologies. Atawey provides two types of products: green hydrogen refuelling stations for zero-emission fleets of vehicles and energy autonomy solutions for sites not connected to an electricity grid. Atawey’s refuelling stations are supplied to local authorities, dealerships, vehicle rental firms and industrials. They aim to initiate hydrogen mobility projects (starting from a small number of vehicles) and to connect regions.JCDecaux, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, is present in more than 80 countries and 4,033 cities with over 10,000 inhabitants.For more than 50 years, JCDecaux products have been the benchmark in innovation, quality, aesthetics and functionality. In the age of the smart city, JCDecaux is positioning itself as a major player by continually looking at how to improve urban models. Thanks to the expertise of its teams, JCDecaux provides innovative solutions to help towns and cities become more sustainable, welcoming and comfortable. By putting data management at the heart of its challenges, the Group is already participating in the emergence of a connected city.Specialised in city-centre fashion retailing, Galeries Lafayette is a family-run private group with 120 years of history in commerce and retail. A player committed to offering the best in commerce and creation, and a leading private employer in France with 16,000 staff, the Group strives to be a benchmark in omni-channel retailing, responsible vis-à-vis serving its clients, and contributes to promoting the French “Art of Living”. With retail sales of 4.5 billion euros, the Group enjoys global recognition through its iconic brands: Galeries Lafayette, BHV MARAIS, La Redoute, RQZ-Royal Quartz Paris, Louis Pion, Guérin Joaillerie and BazarChic. It accompanies these brands in their asset, digital and creative transformation through Citynove, Lafayette Plug & Play and Lafayette Anticipations - Galeries Lafayette Corporate Foundation.Further information on groupegalerieslafayette.fr , LinkedIn and Twitter (@Galeries_Laf)Akuo Energy is the leading French independent renewable energy power producer. Akuo Energy is present across the whole value chain, including project development, financing, construction, and operation. As of end-2017, Akuo Energy had invested more than EUR 2.1 billion for a total capacity of 1.1 GW in operation, under construction or with financing underway and over 2 GW in projects being developed. With to date more than 340 staff, the Group, whose headquarters are in Paris, France, operates in 14 other countries around the world: the United States, Uruguay, Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, Croatia, Australia, Luxembourg, Mongolia, the Dominican Republic, Mali, Bulgaria, Argentina and Dubai. Akuo Energy aims to have a global production capacity of 3,500 MW in 2022.This press release only reflects the view of its authors, and the INEA cannot be held responsible for any use made of the information contained herein.Akuo Energy+33 (0)1 47 66 09 90AtaweyPress RelationsHélène Champetier-Gusella+33 (0)6 70 66 99 17Galeries Lafayette groupVP Corporate CommunicationsAlexandra van Weddingen+33 (0)1 45 96 68 44