Air Liquide and Siemens Energy officially inaugurated their joint venture gigawatt electrolyzer factory today in Berlin.
The mass production of electrolyzer components will allow the manufacturing of low-carbon hydrogen at industrial scale and competitive cost, and foster an innovative European ecosystem. The gigawatt factory will ramp-up to an annual production capacity of three gigawatts by 2025, according to a news release.
Located in Berlin, the new manufacturing site inaugurated today spans over 2,000 square meters. It leverages automation and robotics for the series production of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer modules, the main component of the electrolyzer. The PEM modules offer a high degree of efficiency and are particularly adapted to an intermittent renewable energy supply.
With one gigawatt currently, Air Liquide and Siemens Energy expect a ramp-up to annual production capacity of three gigawatts by 2025. Once produced, the assembly of the modules to be implemented in electrolyzer projects can be carried closer to the project sites, contributing further to the cost effectiveness of the solution.
The strategic partnership benefits from a portfolio of hydrogen projects combining both Air Liquide and Siemens Energy’s pipelines, targeting large industrial-scale projects worldwide in collaboration with customers.
In Europe, a number of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen projects are already under development. In Oberhausen, Germany, the Air Liquide’s Trailblazer 20 MW large-scale electrolyzer project is reaching completion and aims to accelerate the decarbonization of the Rhine-Ruhr industrial basin. Near Port-Jérôme, France, the Air Liquide Normand’Hy 200 MW electrolyzer project is the largest PEM electrolyzer under construction, avoiding the emission of 250,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Both groups are working on several other large-scale electrolyzer projects, such as Siemens Energy’s ones in Kassø (Denmark) or FlagshipONE (Sweden), which will provide hydrogen for the synthesis of efuels for shipping.
