With hydrogen, the energy transition is accelerating

Hydrogen... everyone is talking about it, and for a good reason! Reducing CO2 emissions from industry, developing clean transportation, limiting the use of fossil fuels: hydrogen ticks many boxes. It's simple, its potential is immense for the coming decades.

  • Decarbonizing production, the challenge of the decade

  • Driving forward hydrogen mobility for road, water and air

  • Collaborating to accelerate

Decarbonizing production, the challenge of the decade

Heavy industry, transportation, but also electronics, chemical and glass industries…Low-carbon and renewable hydrogen will play an increasingly important role in more and more human and economic activities. Today though, the main challenge is to decarbonize hydrogen production.

Produce renewable and low-carbon hydrogen through water electrolysis

 

Electrolysis, a technique mastered by the Group, is used to produce hydrogen based on the decomposition of water. Behind these technical words lies a large-scale production process of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen that Air Liquide has deployed, providing a concrete response to the energy transition.

 

Capture, store and even use CO₂

 

Today, the majority of hydrogen is produced from natural gas through the steam methane reforming process. The capture of CO2 during this process is another major issue to which Air Liquide is responding with a unique solution: Cryocap™. The captured carbon can then be stored at a large scale or reused in other industrial processes.

Do you feel that heavy industry is changing?

Driving forward hydrogen mobility for road, water and air

In transport, everything is changing! Hydrogen is now identified as a low-carbon energy vector by fleet operators, shipbuilders, aircraft and truck manufacturers.

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~€8 Bn invested in low-carbon hydrogen value chain by Air Liquide by 2035

“

The future is being shaped by hydrogen in particular, that has become a crucial enabler of a successful energy transition. And this success will undoubtedly be collective.

”

Matthieu Giard

Vice President, Member of the Executive Committee supervising the Industrial Merchant and Hydrogen business lines

Collaborate to accelerate

Thanks to our expertise in the entire hydrogen value chain and our experience of more than 60 years, Air Liquide has a central place in this ecosystem and partners with both large industrial groups and start-ups to contribute to the development of the hydrogen sector.

Faurecia and Siemens, among other major global players, are our technological partners. Airbus, ADP and VINCI Airports are our partners in various projects to invent the airports and aircraft of tomorrow. For mobility, we operate with a number of companies such as Lotte Chemical, First Element or via our joint venture "HysetCo" with Toyota and TotalEnergies in particular.

What is hydrogen?

False!

Just like iron and copper, hydrogen is one of the 118 natural elements that are known to make up the universe. It is almost always combined with other elements and is practically omnipresent, starting with water or H2O. Lastly, hydrogen is the most abundant molecule in the universe: another important feature that speaks volumes about its potential!

False!

Just like iron and copper, hydrogen is one of the 118 natural elements that are known to make up the universe. It is almost always combined with other elements and is practically omnipresent, starting with water or H2O. Lastly, hydrogen is the most abundant molecule in the universe: another important feature that speaks volumes about its potential!

True!

Just like iron and copper, hydrogen is one of the 118 natural elements that are known to make up the universe. It is almost always combined with other elements and is practically omnipresent, starting with water or H2O. Lastly, hydrogen is the most abundant molecule in the universe: another important feature that speaks volumes about its potential!

Is hydrogen a kind of energy?

Yes, it’s as simple as that!

Not quite… 
Unlike an energy source that exists in its natural state (the sun, the wind, etc.), hydrogen is an energy carrier.
Hydrogen can be used to store and transport energy, which is particularly useful when it comes to the transition from a primary energy (found in nature) to final energy (delivered to the consumer).
This means that we need an energy source in order to produce it. That’s why hydrogen is also described as a secondary energy: it’s produced by the transformation of a primary energy. It’s just like electricity.

True!

Not quite… 
Unlike an energy source that exists in its natural state (the sun, the wind, etc.), hydrogen is an energy carrier.
Hydrogen can be used to store and transport energy, which is particularly useful when it comes to the transition from a primary energy (found in nature) to final energy (delivered to the consumer).
This means that we need an energy source in order to produce it. That’s why hydrogen is also described as a secondary energy: it’s produced by the transformation of a primary energy. It’s just like electricity.

 

False!

Not quite… 
Unlike an energy source that exists in its natural state (the sun, the wind, etc.), hydrogen is an energy carrier.
Hydrogen can be used to store and transport energy, which is particularly useful when it comes to the transition from a primary energy (found in nature) to final energy (delivered to the consumer).
This means that we need an energy source in order to produce it. That’s why hydrogen is also described as a secondary energy: it’s produced by the transformation of a primary energy. It’s just like electricity.

 

How is hydrogen produced?

False!

Hydrogen is produced either by water electrolysis or from methane or biomethane by steam reforming or autothermal reforming processes with capture of the  emitted CO2.

Hydrogen has historically been produced from fossil fuels... Its future will be resolutely low-carbon and renewable! Our objective is to convert all our carbon-based hydrogen production methods to low-carbon methods as quickly as possible.

 

False!

Hydrogen is produced either by water electrolysis or from methane or biomethane by steam reforming or autothermal reforming processes with capture of the  emitted CO2.

Hydrogen has historically been produced from fossil fuels... Its future will be resolutely low-carbon and renewable! Our objective is to convert all our carbon-based hydrogen production methods to low-carbon methods as quickly as possible.

 

True!

Hydrogen is produced either by water electrolysis or from methane or biomethane by steam reforming or autothermal reforming processes with capture of the  emitted CO2.

Hydrogen has historically been produced from fossil fuels... Its future will be resolutely low-carbon and renewable! Our objective is to convert all our carbon-based hydrogen production methods to low-carbon methods as quickly as possible.

 

What is hydrogen used for?

False!

Hydrogen has been used for years in many industries. Most of the hydrogen produced today is used to make ammonia (a vital product for the fertilizer industry); it’s also used to desulfurize fuels.Hydrogen is also used for the manufacture of electronic components and rocket propulsion. 

New applications for low-carbon hydrogen are being developed, including in carbon-intensive industries (such as steel and glass) and in mobility (car, bus, train, boat, plane powered by hydrogen).

False!

Hydrogen has been used for years in many industries. Most of the hydrogen produced today is used to make ammonia (a vital product for the fertilizer industry); it’s also used to desulfurize fuels.Hydrogen is also used for the manufacture of electronic components and rocket propulsion. 

New applications for low-carbon hydrogen are being developed, including in carbon-intensive industries (such as steel and glass) and in mobility (car, bus, train, boat, plane powered by hydrogen).

True!

Hydrogen has been used for years in many industries. Most of the hydrogen produced today is used to make ammonia (a vital product for the fertilizer industry); it’s also used to desulfurize fuels.Hydrogen is also used for the manufacture of electronic components and rocket propulsion. 

New applications for low-carbon hydrogen are being developed, including in carbon-intensive industries (such as steel and glass) and in mobility (car, bus, train, boat, plane powered by hydrogen).

 

What happens to the CO2 captured during hydrogen production?

False!

CO2 can be used in different forms by many industries.

80% of the CO2 sold by Air Liquide is used in the food industry for the carbonation of fizzy drinks and water, to cool, freeze or extend the shelf life of foodstuffs and to stimulate plant growth in greenhouses. 

The remaining 20% is used in other industries for various purposes: to enhance the recovery of crude oil from oil deposits, for welding and to protect welding joints from oxidation, as a solvent for industrial cleaning, to calibrate aeronautical and automotive equipment, as a cooling agent in electronics, as a reactive agent in the pharmaceutical industry, for certain medical procedures (laparoscopies, colonoscopies, etc.), for wastewater treatment and in the cement industry.

True!

CO2 can be used in different forms by many industries.

80% of the CO2 sold by Air Liquide is used in the food industry for the carbonation of fizzy drinks and water, to cool, freeze or extend the shelf life of foodstuffs and to stimulate plant growth in greenhouses. 

The remaining 20% is used in other industries for various purposes: to enhance the recovery of crude oil from oil deposits, for welding and to protect welding joints from oxidation, as a solvent for industrial cleaning, to calibrate aeronautical and automotive equipment, as a cooling agent in electronics, as a reactive agent in the pharmaceutical industry, for certain medical procedures (laparoscopies, colonoscopies, etc.), for wastewater treatment and in the cement industry.

False!

CO2 can be used in different forms by many industries.

80% of the CO2 sold by Air Liquide is used in the food industry for the carbonation of fizzy drinks and water, to cool, freeze or extend the shelf life of foodstuffs and to stimulate plant growth in greenhouses. 

The remaining 20% is used in other industries for various purposes: to enhance the recovery of crude oil from oil deposits, for welding and to protect welding joints from oxidation, as a solvent for industrial cleaning, to calibrate aeronautical and automotive equipment, as a cooling agent in electronics, as a reactive agent in the pharmaceutical industry, for certain medical procedures (laparoscopies, colonoscopies, etc.), for wastewater treatment and in the cement industry.

End of the quiz!

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Hydrogen in 7 questions