Air Liquide has received support from the French State, subject to a final validation by the European Commission, to launch its Air Liquide Normand’Hy large scale renewable hydrogen production project. This electrolyser of an initial 200 MW capacity, which should notably provide renewable hydrogen to TotalEnergies’ Normandy refinery, will use Siemens Energy technology. This project will significantly contribute to the creation of a French and European low-carbon hydrogen sector and to the decarbonisation of the Normandy industrial basin. It will also contribute to the development of heavy-duty hydrogen mobility in this important industrial area.
The Air Liquide large-scale renewable hydrogen production by electrolysis project has applied to the Hydrogen Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI Hydrogen) programme, with a requested financial support of €190 million. Air Liquide welcomes the French State's will to support the project by reserving the necessary budget for its realisation, subject to the conclusion of the investigation by the European Commission.
This electrolyser project, named Air Liquide Normand’Hy, of a capacity of 200 MW in a first phase, will be located in Port-Jérôme, Normandy, France. It will be one of the first electrolysers of this size in operation in the world, to decarbonise industry and mobility. It is planned to be commissioned in 2025. It will use Siemens Energy’s Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, and will be built in the framework of the partnership announced between Air Liquide and Siemens Energy in February 2021. Air Liquide and Siemens Energy thus contribute to the rise of a European renewable hydrogen sector, with strong Franco-German roots.
Air Liquide is at the heart of a European renewable hydrogen production ecosystem, combining technology, renewable energy and applications. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TotalEnergies, aiming at the signing of a long-term renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) for part of the needs of the Air Liquide Normand’Hy electrolyser. By implementing this electrolyser technology for the first time at this scale, the project will be in a position to provide renewable hydrogen to the industrial companies of the Normandy basin, and to contribute to the development of low-carbon heavy-duty mobility on the Axe Seine.
The supply of renewable hydrogen will contribute to the decarbonisation of the refinery industry in this important French industrial basin, in accordance with the RED2 regulation. Air Liquide has signed an MoU with TotalEnergies for the use of renewable hydrogen on its Gonfreville refinery. This refinery is connected to the local Air Liquide hydrogen network to which the new electrolyser will also be connected.
Air Liquide Normand’Hy is part of a wider project to decarbonize the Normandy industrial basin. Air Liquide, Borealis, Esso S.A.F., TotalEnergies and Yara International signed an MoU in July 2021 aiming at developing a CO2 capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure in Normandy, with the objective to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 3 million tpy by 2030.