The Franco-German partners hope the joint venture will lay the foundations for a ramp up in electrolysis capacity, with a view of making cost competitive hydrogen more widely available, sooner.

Set to be headquartered in Berlin, Germany, the joint venture will seek to establish a multi-gigawatt factory producing electrolyser stacks, also in Berlin, which was announced by Siemens in March this year (2022).

Read more:  Siemens Energy to begin industrial-scale electrolyser manufacturing in Berlin, Germany

Based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology, the partners have said the stacks will feature high efficiency, suited to harvest volatile renewable energy, which will be supplied to both groups for their customers.

Leveraging on both Air Liquide and Siemens Energy’s portfolio of upcoming hydrogen projects, the partnership hopes to target industrial-scale hydrogen projects with its customers.

Christian Bruch, CEO and President of Siemens Energy, said, “We want to be a driving force in hydrogen technology. 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.”

H2 View understands one of the first projects for the new partnerships is the Air Liquide Normand’Hy electrolyser project, in Normandy, France, which expects to boast a 200MW capacity in its first phase. The assembly of the electrolyser system is expected to be manufactured in France.

Read more:  Air Liquide to lead 200MW flagship green hydrogen project in Normandy, France; acquires H2V Normandy

François Jackow, CEO 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 electrolysers, 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.”

News of the joint venture comes a week after the European Commission revealed plans to kick off a European Electrolyser Partnership to aid in establishing and maturing a manufacturing base on the continent, to meet its goal of producing 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen domestically by 2030.

Read more:  EU advances Electrolyser Partnership to meet REPowerEU goals

The partners say they have and will apply for large projects funding under the EU’s Innovation Fund, Green Deal, and Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) scheme for hydrogen, funded by European Governments.