Siemens Energy, Air Liquide to Form JV for Renewable Hydrogen Electrolyzers Production in Europe

Siemens Energy and Air Liquide have entered into a partnership to form a joint venture (JV) company, headquartered in Berlin, dedicated to the series production of industrial-scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers in Europe.

Commenting on the development, Christian Bruch, CEO, and President of Siemens Energy AG, said “we want to be a driving force in hydrogen technology.”

“To make green hydrogen competitive, we need serially produced, low-cost, scalable electrolyzers. We also need strong partnerships. Together with Air Liquide as a pioneer in hydrogen for over 50 years, we look forward to implementing innovative solutions and collaborating to shape this new hydrogen market,” Bruch added.
 
Under this Franco-German partnership, Air Liquide will hold 25.1 per cent stake in the JV firm, while Siemens Energy will hold majority 74.9 per cent shareholding. However, the creation is subject to the approval of the competent authorities.
 
Further, the newly-formed JV is expected to begin production in the second half of 2023 and ramp-up to an annual production capacity of 3 GW by 2025.
 
Moreover, the multi-gigawatt factory that produces electrolysis modules (stacks) would be also located in the German capital, as announced earlier this year.
 
Also, this factory will supply stacks to both Groups for their respective broad range of customers and to serve the rapidly growing market.
 
Based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology, these stacks will feature a high degree of efficiency and are ideally suited to harvest volatile renewable energy, the company said in a statement.
 
In addition, the two organisations have also agreed to dedicate R&D capacities to the co-development of the next generation of electrolyzer technologies within the framework of the partnership.
 
One of the first projects is the Air Liquide Normand’Hy electrolyzer project, with a capacity of 200 MW expected in the first phase, located in Normandy, France. The assembly of the electrolyzer systems for this project is planned to be made in France.
 
Speaking on the partnership, François Jackow, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide, said, “The creation of this Franco-German joint venture is a major step towards the emergence of a leading European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem. By scaling up the production of large-scale electrolyzers, Air Liquide and Siemens Energy will be able to provide their customers with access to large amounts of competitive renewable hydrogen and to decarbonize their activities. In line with its Sustainable Development strategy, Air Liquide is more than ever committed to making hydrogen a driving force of the energy transition and of the fight against global warming.”
 
The partners have and will apply for large projects’ funding under the EU’s Innovation Fund, Green Deal, and Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI)-scheme for hydrogen, funded by the European Governments.