German technology company Siemens Energy and French industrial gases group Air Liquide aim to ramp up electrolyser stack production capacity at a facility in Berlin to 3GW/yr by 2025 as part of a green hydrogen joint venture (JV) unveiled today.

Siemens will hold a majority 74.9pc share, with the rest held by Air Liquide. The JV is subject to regulatory approval.

Production will focus on proton-exchange-membrane electrolyser stacks and will be based at an existing Siemens facility in Berlin that previously produced gas turbines. Initial production is scheduled to start in the second half of next year.

“We want to be a driving force in hydrogen technology,” say Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy.

“To make green hydrogen competitive, we need serially produced, low-cost, scalable electrolysers. We also need strong partnerships. Together with Air Liquide as a pioneer in hydrogen for over 50 years, we look forward to implementing innovative solutions and collaborating to shape this new hydrogen market.”

As part of the JV, the two companies will combine their electrolyser project pipelines, creating sufficient demand to support the scaling-up of production capacity at the Berlin plant.

3GW/yr – 2025 production target

“This factory will supply stacks to both groups for their respective broad range of customers and to serve the rapidly growing market,” the two companies say.

One of the first projects to be supplied under the JV is Air Liquide’s 200MW Normand’Hy electrolyser in Normandy, France.

Siemens and Air Liquide will also collaborate on further electrolyser research and development.

The joint plan to ramp up production in Berlin comes as competition intensifies between manufacturers in Europe. Pure-play electrolyser manufacturers including Norway’s Nel and the UK’s ITM Power are expanding their production capacity in anticipation of rising demand as the EU lifts its targets for the use of low-carbon hydrogen to 20mn t/yr by 2030.

Achieving this goal would require an increase of electrolyser production to around 25GW/yr compared with current European manufacturing capacity of 1.75GW/yr, according to the European Commission.

Manufacturers have agreed to raise capacity to a combined 17.5GW/yr by 2025, followed by further increases in line with demand to 2030, in exchange for a support package for the sector pledged in May by the European Commission.

However, relatively few green hydrogen projects have reached FID, constraining immediate demand for electrolysers.

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Author: Stuart Penson