One type of hydrogen production uses electrolysis, where an electric current divides water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable energy source, some call it “green” hydrogen.
Alex Klaus | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Siemens Energy When Air Liquide Announced plans to establish a joint venture focused on the production of “industrial-scale renewable hydrogen electrolytic cells in Europe”.
Announced Thursday, the move represents the latest attempt to find ways to reduce “renewable” or “green” hydrogen production costs and make the sector competitive.
The establishment of a joint venture — Siemens Energy with a 74.9% stake and Air Liquide with a 25.1% stake — requires regulatory approval.
If all goes according to plan, the headquarters is in Berlin, where there is a facility to manufacture electrolysis modules or stacks.
Plans for electrolytic cell production in the German capital were previously announced. Production will begin in 2023 and will reach an annual production capacity of 3 gigawatts in 2025.
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, has previously stated that it hopes to install a 40 GW renewable hydrogen electrolyzer in the EU in 2030.
In February 2021, Siemens Energy and Air Liquide announced plans related to the development of a “Large Electrolytic Cell Partnership.”
Hydrogen, called a “universal energy carrier” by the International Energy Agency, has a variety of uses and can be deployed in a variety of industries.
It can be produced in several ways. One method involves the use of electrolysis, where the electric current divides the water into oxygen and hydrogen.
If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable energy source such as wind or solar, some call it “green” or “renewable” hydrogen. Today, most hydrogen production is based on fossil fuels.
October 2021, Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch We talked about the challenges facing the green hydrogen sector. On Thursday, he emphasized the importance of future scale and collaboration.
“To make green hydrogen competitive, we need continuously produced, low-cost, scalable electrolyzers,” Bruch said in a statement. “We also need a strong partnership,” Bruch added.
François Jacow, CEO of Air Liquide, described the establishment of the joint venture as “a major step towards the emergence of Europe’s leading renewable, low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem.”
The Siemens Energy-Air Liquide joint venture plan represents the latest attempt by a multinational company to place a marker in the green hydrogen sector.
Just last week, oil and gas super majors BP Said that it had agreed to acquire a 40.5% stake in A vast project planned in Australia, a renewable energy hub in Asia.
“It could be one of the world’s largest renewable energy and green hydrogen hubs,” BP said in a statement, adding that it would be the operator of the development.
December 2021 Iberdrola H2 Green Steel has announced that it will collaborate on a € 2.3 billion project centered on a green hydrogen facility with a gigawatt electrolysis capacity.
