TotalEnergies, Air Liquide Sign Deal to Decarbonize Refineries with Green Hydrogen

Energy company TotalEnergies announced a new agreement with industrial gases and services supplier Air Liquide, aimed at helping to decarbonize TotalEnergies’ refineries in Northern Europe with green hydrogen.

The deal provides for the establishment of two projects, located in the Netherlands, that will produce and deliver some 45,000 tons of green hydrogen annually. TotalEnergies said that the projects will cut CO2 emissions from its refineries in Belgium and the Netherlands by up to 450,000 tons a year, while contributing to European renewable energy targets in transport.

The agreement, TotalEnergies said, is in line with its efforts to decarbonize the hydrogen used in its European refineries. TotalEnergies has set a goal to achieve a 40% reduction in net Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions linked directly to its oil and gas operations by 2030. As part of these efforts, the company has stated that it wants to replace 500,000 tons per year of the hydrogen consumed in its refineries with green hydrogen by 2030, which it anticipates could help reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 5 million tonnes annually.

Emilie Mouren-Renouard, member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee, in charge of Europe operations, said:

“Flagship projects such as the ones we are announcing today, will play a key role in reducing emissions, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and heavy mobility. We are proud to lead the way on European renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production, and to accompany TotalEnergies in their journey to decarbonizing their industrial assets.”

Under the new agreement, the two companies will set up a joint venture to build and operate a 250 MW electrolyser to separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules, located near the Zeeland refinery in the Netherlands. This project will enable the production of up to 30,000 tons of green hydrogen a year, most of which will be delivered to Zeeland’s platform, TotalEnergies said. The projects will cost each partner approximately €600 million, and they have made requests for support under European and national subsidy programs. Project funding will also be sought by the partners, the companies said.

In addition, TotalEnergies has signed an agreement for 130 MW from Air Liquide’s 200 MW ELYgator electrolyzer project, located in Maasvlakte (Netherlands), to be used to supply the TotalEnergies platform in Antwerp. In addition, TotalEnergies will supply renewable electrons produced by the OranjeWind project to Air Liquide to be transformed into green hydrogen. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2027 and will reduce CO2 emissions at the Antwerp site by up to 150,000 tons per year.

The power used to produce the hydrogen for the projects will be largely generated at the OranjeWind wind farm, located off the Dutch coast and developed by TotalEnergies with German energy firm RWE.

TotalEnergies and Air Liquide have several agreements behind them. In 2024, the two companies announced the launch of TEAL Mobility, a joint venture aimed at accelerating the development of a hydrogen network for heavy duty trucks across major European corridors. Under the agreement, over 100 hydrogen stations will be opened throughout Europe over the next decade operating under the TotalEnergies brand. TotalEnergies has also contracted for supply of over 170,000 tons of green hydrogen annually at its refineries in La Mède, Grandpuits and Normandy in France, Leuna in Germany, as well as its refineries in Belgium and the Netherlands, part of which is supplied by Air Liquide.

Vincent Stoquart, President, Refining & Chemicals at TotalEnergies, said:

“Following the first partnership agreement with Air Liquide to supply the Normandy refinery with green hydrogen, and the agreements to supply the Grandpuits and La Mède biorefineries with renewable hydrogen, the partnership with Air Liquide takes on a new dimension and marks a new step in TotalEnergies’ ambition to decarbonize the hydrogen consumed by its refineries in Europe by 2030.”