Air Liquide Will Build the First High-pressure Hydrogen Refueling Station for Long-haul Trucks in Europe

Regulatory News:

Air Liquide (Paris:AI) announces the installation of the first high-pressure hydrogen refueling station in Europe, with capacity to serve the first fleet of long-haul hydrogen trucks. This investment reflects the Group's strategy to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen energy through large-scale projects, particularly in the heavy vehicle segment.

Located at Air Liquide’s Fos-sur-Mer site, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region in France, this large capacity hydrogen station engineered by Air Liquide [700 bar, 1,000 kg/day] will enable per day up to 20 refuelings of long-haul trucks with low-carbon hydrogen for up to 800 km of autonomy. In addition to Air Liquide’s investment, the station will be built with funding from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region and Europe FCH JU (Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking).

The station will be built in the framework of the HyAMMED¹ project which brings together industrial actors, carriers and large retailers such as Carrefour, Coca-Cola European Partners and Monoprix to facilitate the transition to clean and sustainable solutions in transportation of goods. The project will contribute to reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 1,500 metric tons of CO₂ per year, the equivalent of more than 2 million kilometers travelled by truck.

The station will be commissioned early 2022 and will primarily serve the first European fleet of eight 44-tonnes low-carbon hydrogen trucks specifically designed within the project. One of these trucks will be operated by Air Liquide for its packaged gas delivery activities in the Fos-sur-Mer area. The station is also designed for the refuelling of buses and other commercial vehicles.

François Jackow, Executive Vice President and a member of the Air Liquide Group’s Executive Committee, said: “Hydrogen is an alternative to meet the challenge of clean transportation and thus contribute to improving air quality. As such, hydrogen energy has the potential to transform Europe’s energy landscape. This project demonstrates Air Liquide's commitment as part of its Climate objectives to work with customers and public and private partners toward a sustainable industry and the development of a low-carbon society.”

The HyAMMED project
The project HyAMMED (Hydrogène à Aix-Marseille pour une Mobilité Écologique et Durable) was also selected by ADEME (Agence de la Transition Écologique) in January 2020 as part of the Hydrogen Deployment Plan for Energy Transition across France.

The HyAMMED project, part of H2Haul (Hydrogen fuel cell trucks for heavy-duty, zero emission logistics) programme, has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 826236. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe research.

Air Liquide’s commitment to hydrogen energy
In the past 50 years, Air Liquide has developed unique expertise enabling it to master the entire hydrogen supply chain, from production and storage to distribution and the development of applications for end users, thus contributing to the widespread use of hydrogen as a clean energy source, for mobility in particular. Air Liquide has designed and installed more than 120 stations around the world to date. Hydrogen is an alternative to meet the challenge of clean transportation and thus contributes to the improvement of air quality. Used in a fuel cell, hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to produce electricity, emitting only water. It does not generate any pollution at the point of use: zero greenhouse gases, zero particles and zero noise. Hydrogen provides a concrete response to the challenges posed by sustainable mobility and local pollution in urban areas

A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with approximately 67,000 employees and serves more than 3.7 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide’s scientific territory and have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902.

Air Liquide’s ambition is to be a leader in its industry, deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability. The company’s customer-centric transformation strategy aims at profitable, regular and responsible growth over the long term. It relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open innovation and a network organization implemented by the Group worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people, Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its stakeholders.

Air Liquide’s revenue amounted to 22 billion euros in 2019 and its solutions that protect life and the environment represented more than 40% of sales. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes.

¹ Hydrogène à Aix-Marseille pour une Mobilité Écologique et Durable

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