Renewable hydrogen: a gigafactory of electrolyzers to scale up

An energy vector that currently meets just 3%⁽¹⁾ of the world’s needs could, by 2050, meet 20%⁽¹⁾ of the demand. This is the remarkable prospect for hydrogen, a potentially pivotal molecule in the energy transition. A hydrogen future depends on competitive, large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen – and, therefore, a mass supply of electrolyzers: a production technology that uses electricity to separate purified water molecules (H₂O) into hydrogen and oxygen.

Air Liquide is playing a leading role in the entirely new industrial and economic ecosystem needed to drive the future of hydrogen. We are partnering with major industrial and technology enterprises, including a joint venture with Siemens Energy. And these are not merely plans: 2023 ended with the inauguration of a world-first hydrogen gigafactory to produce large-scale PEM⁽²⁾ electrolyzers.

On November 8, 2023, production began at the new Air Liquide Siemens Energy Joint Venture gigafactory in Berlin. The cutting-edge 2,000 m² plant, highly automated with robotics, is producing electrolysis stacks that use proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology.

Initial manufacturing capacity is 1 GW per year, with ramp-up plans targeting at least 3 GW per year of output by 2025. In terms of hydrogen production capacity, this would translate into 1,200 tonnes per day more of hydrogen. The project also builds on real-world knowledge from our operations to continuously hone and optimize the potential of mass-scale electrolyzers.

This strategic joint venture will equip a portfolio of current hydrogen projects, including notably:

• Our 20 MW hydrogen production unit in Oberhausen, Germany, contributing to accelerate the decarbonization of the Rhine-Ruhr industrial basin.
• The Normand’Hy project in Port-Jérôme, France, with a capacity of 200 MW – the largest PEM electrolyzer under construction, which will integrate equipment produced in the framework of the joint venture. It will avoid the emission of 250,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
• In the Netherlands, two other large-scale electrolyzer facilities will provide low-carbon hydrogen to various industrial and mobility market customers. With individual capacities of 200 MW, these projects are set to collectively produce approximately 30,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen annually, without generating CO₂ emissions.