Renewable Hydrogen

Hydrogen produced from renewable sources has the potential to be a critical enabler of the global transition to sustainable energy and net zero emission economies.

Air Liquide Engineering & Construction is supporting the energy transition by providing technologies and commercial ventures that will drive the development and application of renewable hydrogen.

Electrolyzers

A core technology in carbon-free hydrogen production is electrolysis ‒ the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by applying an electrical current. 

We have proven experience of electrolysis on an industrial scale and have made some of the largest industrial investments ever seen in this technology. 

Our offer to customers includes either proton exchange membrane (PEM) or alkaline (AEL) technologies. 

We also have extensive project experience across the spectrum of electrolysis technologies, with world-leading downstream technologies and experience, in liquefaction and compression.

In partnership with Siemens Energy

Our capability has been reinforced by our joint venture with Siemens Energy, producing  industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers for customers worldwide. The partnership is strongly supporting the emergence of a sustainable hydrogen economy in Europe and is helping to foster the European ecosystem for electrolysis and hydrogen technology needed to forge the energy transition. 

The joint venture has inaugurated a gigawatt electrolyzer factory in Berlin which will enable the manufacture of low-carbon hydrogen at industrial scale. The 2,000 square meter state-of-the-art facility uses automation and robotics for the production of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer modules. The modules feature a high degree of efficiency and are ideally suited to harvest volatile renewable energy. Annual production capacity at the factory will ramp up to three gigawatts by 2025.

This strategic partnership benefits from a portfolio of hydrogen projects, combining both Air Liquide and Siemens Energy’s pipelines, targeting large industrial-scale projects worldwide in collaboration with customers. In Europe, a number of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen projects are already under development which draw  on the expertise of both groups:

  • Trailblazer: a 20MW large-scale electrolyzer in Oberhausen, Germany to supply key industries and mobility with renewable hydrogen and oxygen, accelerating the decarbonization of the Rine-Ruhr industrial basin.

  • Normand’Hy: a 200MW PEM electrolyzer in Port-Jérôme, France, to supply renewable hydrogen for industrial and heavy mobility applications, avoiding the emission of 250,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. 

Integrated Power-to-X plants (PtX)

The conversion of electricity into chemical energy is called PtX where the ‘X’ may represent liquid hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or other energy carriers. 

For these three options, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction is able to deliver integrated production plants, optimized for a direct coupling with fluctuating renewable energy sources. For example, a CO2-to-methanol plant consists of an electrolyser, a carbon capture unit and a methanol production plant. As we possess all three of these technology elements, we are in a unique position to deliver superior integration concepts by also leveraging our experience in hydrogen storage and adding flexibility to the downstream process. The same capability applies to integrated liquid hydrogen plants and we are also able to integrate ammonia synthesis to produce Green Ammonia.

  • Air Liquide and Siemens Energy: a joint venture

    In June 2022, Air Liquide and Siemens Energy created a joint venture dedicated to the production of industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers. That partnership is now fully operational, with the launch of a largescale electrolyzer factory in Germany in 2023.

    With two of the global leading companies in their field combining their expertise, the partnership is playing a pivotal role in the emergence of a sustainable hydrogen economy.

  • Pioneering industrial scale electrolysis: Hobro, Denmark

    Air Liquide’s HyBalance facility is one of Europe’s first for the production of hydrogen by PEM water electrolysis on an industrial scale at 1.25MW. It has delivered 120 tonnes of hydrogen since its inauguration in 2018 and has demonstrated its ability to balance the electricity grid. 

    The electrolyzer has achieved high availability, enabling 24/7 delivery of 60 tonnes of hydrogen to an industrial customer connected through a pipeline. The remaining 60 tonnes have been delivered for other customers as well as for clean transportation, such as a network of hydrogen stations fuelling a fleet of fuel cell taxis in Copenhagen.

     

  • Becancour: the world’s largest PEM electrolyzer

    In January 2021, Air Liquide completed the construction of the world's largest PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyzer. Supplied with renewable energy, this unit is now producing up to 8.2 tonnes per day of low-carbon hydrogen in Bécancour, Québec. 

    The 20 MW PEM electrolyser, is the largest operating unit of its kind in the world and helps meet the growing demand for low-carbon hydrogen in North America. Bécancour's proximity to the main industrial markets in Canada and the United States helps ensure the supply of low-carbon hydrogen for industrial use and mobility.

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    Air Liquide Electrolyzer

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    World’s largest PEM plant