Air Liquide, TotalEnergies to strengthen hydrogen ties in Normandy
The partnership will develop a hydrogen ecosystem in the Axe Seine/Normandy and help both companies achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Air Liquide and TotalEnergies agreed to produce low carbon hydrogen at TotalEnergies’ Normandy platform in France.
The project will allow Air Liquide to supply low-carbon hydrogen to TotalEnergies employing Air Liquide’s hydrogen network in Normandy and implementing a large-scale CO2 capture and storage solution (CCS).
Under the agreement, Air Liquide will take over and operate the 255 tonnes/day hydrogen production unit at the TotalEnergies platform in Normandy. The plant will be connected to Air Liquide’s hydrogen network, which eventually makes up the world’s first low-carbon hydrogen network. The network already includes a hydrogen production facility in Port-Jérôme equipped with Air Liquide’s CryocapTM carbon capture solution since 2015. Air Liquide plans to add a large-scale unit to produce renewable hydrogen through electrolysis.
Moreover, both partners will launch development studies to deploy a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to decarbonise the hydrogen produced in this unit at the Normandy platform. Air Liquide would install its Cryocap™ process to capture CO2, while TotalEnergies would handle transportation and storage of the captured CO2, notably through the Northern Lights (Norway) and Aramis (Netherlands) CCS projects being developed in the North Sea. The projects will cut carbon emissions by around 650k tonnes/year of CO2 by 2030.
The cooperation will also help decarbonise industrial operations in the ‘Axe Seine/Normandy’. Both partners also signed an MoU along with other partners in July 2021 for developing carbon capture and storage infrastructure in Normandy to cut CO2 emissions by up to 3 million tonnes/year by 2030.
François Jackow, Executive VP of the Air Liquide, said, “In line with our objective to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, Air Liquide is acting now to develop low-carbon and renewable hydrogen production and build a more sustainable future.”
Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals of TotalEnergies, said, “This planned investment at our Normandy platform will enhance its industrial competitiveness and secure its long-term future.”
