Scaling up electrolysis to decarbonize European industry

In this context, Air Liquide is deploying a series of large electrolysis projects across major industrial basins, illustrating a progression from an initial 20 MW industrial reference to facilities designed to operate at several hundred megawatts.

Trailblazer: an industrial-scale electrolyzer and learning platform in Germany

This continuous feedback led to concrete design adjustments in subsequent projects, including changes in equipment layout, the relocation of certain components and improved integration into Air Liquide-designed structures to simplify construction and maintenance. By combining production with learning, Trailblazer illustrates Air Liquide’s “innovation in action” approach–deploying technology at scale and using each asset to improve the next.

The Air Liquide Normand’Hy project: a flagship electrolyzer in France

Air Liquide Normand’Hy is a 200 MW PEM electrolyzer under construction near Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine, in the Seine Valley, one of France’s main industrial and energy basins. This industrial region, which generates a significant share of CO₂ emissions, accounts for roughly one-third of national hydrogen consumption, with a high concentration of refining, chemicals and logistics activities that already rely on hydrogen. The site benefits from direct access to water drawn from the Seine, treated and purified on site, as well as from dedicated high-voltage connections supplying renewable and low-carbon electricity. At the end of the process, a part of the water withdrawn is returned to the natural environment after treatment.

Planned to be commissioned in 2026, Normand’Hy will be the largest electrolyzer of its kind in Europe, designed to produce around 28,000 tonnes of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen per year. Most of the hydrogen produced will supply the nearby TotalEnergies refinery under a long-term contract, for use in desulfurization and other refining processes. Additional volumes will support intensive mobility along the Seine axis, via a new hydrogen packaging and delivery centre designed to supply refueling stations.

The entire project represents an investment of more than 450 million euros¹. Through its combination of large‑scale electrolysis and existing assets such as hydrogen pipelines, it showcases how established infrastructure can be leveraged to decarbonize major industrial sites.

Technologically, ELYgator is a milestone: it will be the first project to combine Siemens Energy’s PEM and alkaline electrolysis technologies at a single site, enabling the Group to balance efficiency, flexibility and costs while ensuring high reliability. ELYgator showcases Air Liquide’s ability to deliver complex infrastructure in one of Europe’s largest energy and chemical hubs, reinforcing its role as a strategic partner to major refineries in their transition to renewable hydrogen.

A strategic 250 MW electrolyzer project with TotalEnergies

In parallel, Air Liquide and TotalEnergies have created a 50/50 joint venture to develop a 250 MW electrolyzer in the Zeeland province, Netherlands. Powered by renewable electricity from TotalEnergies’ share of the OranjeWind offshore wind farm, this project aims to produce up to 30,000 tons of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen annually.

This project sends a strong signal about the long-term partnership between Air Liquide and TotalEnergies in decarbonizing industrial assets. More broadly, it illustrates Air Liquide’s strategy: focusing on large, anchored, long-term contracted assets in robust industrial regions, while progressively scaling technology and building a portfolio that reinforces the Group’s leadership in low‑carbon hydrogen in Europe.