Siemens Energy and Air Liquide form joint venture for hydrogen electrolysers

Siemens Energy and Air Liquide announced on Thursday they had set up a joint venture dedicated to the series production of industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolysers in Europe.

Production is expected to begin in the second half of 2023 and ramp-up to an annual production capacity of three gigawatts by 2025, the companies said in a joint statement.

The Franco-German partnership, headquartered in Berlin, will enable the emergence of a sustainable hydrogen economy in Europe and foster a European ecosystem for electrolysis and hydrogen technology, they said.

According to the terms of the deal, Air Liquide will take a 25.1% stake, while Siemens Energy will hold 74.9% of the joint venture, the creation of which remains subject to approval of the competent authorities.

“We want to be a driving force in hydrogen technology,” said Christian Bruch, CEO, and President of Siemens Energy AG. “To make green hydrogen competitive, we need serially produced, low-cost, scalable electrolysers. 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.”

The multi-gigawatt factory that produces electrolysis modules would be also located in the German capital, the companies said. The 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, the stacks will feature a high degree of efficiency and are ideally suited to harvest volatile renewable energy, according to Air Liquide and Siemens Energy.

In addition, the two companies have agreed to dedicate R&D capacities to the co-development of the next generation of electrolyser technologies within the framework of the partnership.

“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,” said François Jackow, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide.

“By scaling up the production of large scale electrolysers, Air Liquide and Siemens Energy will be able to provide their customers with access to large amounts of competitive renewable hydrogen and to decarbonise their activities,” he added.