Air Liquide welcomes support from European Innovation Fund for its 200 MW electrolyzer project in the Netherlands
- Europe
- Renewable hydrogen
- Mobility
Air Liquide welcomes the grant decision selection announced by the European Innovation Fund in favor of its large-scale renewable hydrogen project “ELYgator” in the Netherlands. This electrolyzer project of a 200 MW capacity aims to produce renewable hydrogen and contribute to the decarbonization of the Dutch and neighboring countries’ industry and mobility markets. The project has been selected for funding by the European Commission through the European Innovation Fund, out of 139 initial applications.
ELYgator is planned to be located in the industrial basin of Terneuzen, in the Netherlands, with the objective to produce 15.5 kilotonnes of renewable hydrogen per year. The electrolyzer will be fully sourced with renewable energy and integrated into the cross-border industrial basin between Netherlands and Belgium. Connection to Air Liquide’s cross-border pipeline network will allow for an optimized combination of flexibility and efficiency, best leveraging the output of renewable power production and taking into account its intermittency.
The project is subject to additional funding, regulatory approvals, and feasibility assessments prior to commencement. Pioneering projects such as ELYgator are needed to achieve national and European climate ambitions as they can play a role in decarbonisation, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors. The ELYgator project would enable the avoidance of 3.3 million tonnes CO2 emissions over the first ten years of the plant's operation
The EU Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. Following the positive grant decision, individual grant agreements will be prepared with the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA) implementation agency of the Innovation Fund.
In full support of the 2015 Paris agreement, the Air Liquide commitments address the urgency of climate change and energy transition, targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. As a pioneer in hydrogen, the Group is convinced that hydrogen is a cornerstone of the energy transition. In the past 50 years, the Group has developed unique expertise enabling it to master the entire supply chain, from production and storage to distribution, contributing to the widespread use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier for a wide range of applications such as industrial usages and clean mobility. Air Liquide is committed to reaching several goals, investing approximately 8 billion Euro in the low-carbon hydrogen full value chain by 2035, and a total of 3 GW electrolysis capacity by 2030.