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, which will produce industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers for customers worldwide. The partnership is strongly supporting the emergence of a sustainable hydrogen economy in Europe and will help to foster a European ecosystem for electrolysis and hydrogen technology. 

The joint venture will produce electrolysis modules for a broad range of customers to serve the rapidly growing market. Based on PEM electrolysis technology, the modules feature a high degree of efficiency and are ideally suited to harvest volatile renewable energy. 

Customers benefit from our partnership with Siemens Energy, leveraging pre-developed and extensively optimized products based on our own projects that are already in execution. Our cooperation is driving the co-development of the next generation of PEM electrolyzer technologies, which will allow further efficiency improvement, contributing to the cost competitiveness of low-carbon hydrogen.  

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. 

    With two of the global leading companies in their field combining their expertise, this partnership will enable the emergence of a sustainable hydrogen economy and foster an ecosystem for electrolysis and hydrogen technology. Production will begin in the second half of 2023 and ramp-up to an annual production capacity of three gigawatts by 2025.

  • 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