Joint project to develop electrolysis and hydrogen technology

Published on: February 12, 2021

Air Liquide SA, a French industrial gas supplier, and Siemens Energy AG signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop electrolysis and hydrogen technology. The companies will collaborate on industrial-scale hydrogen projects and said the joint venture is designed to support the development and mass manufacturing of electrolyzers in Europe.

Several countries and major energy companies in recent months announced plans to begin researching and/or using hydrogen in power generation and other industrial sectors.

“Green hydrogen,” hydrogen produced through renewable-powered water electrolysis, has the potential to help decarbonize energy grids. In particular, green hydrogen can be flexible and dispatchable for emissions-free power from intermittent sources like solar and wind. With a sufficient source of blue/green hydrogen production and a storage and transportation network that can reliably and cost effectively supply hydrogen.

The cost of production for green hydrogen remains prohibitively high compared to “blue” and “grey.” If enough governments and local states and utilities are serious about switching from carbon-intensive sources of emissions, then early investment may help increase demand for hydrogen while reducing costs to produce it that are, right now, carbon intensive.