John Cockerill manufactures high-pressure alkaline electrolysers. Here Hydrogen Economist talks to Raphael Tilot, executive president of hydrogen at the firm, about its plans for expansion, the development of different regional markets and the benefits of manufacturing locally.

What are John Cockerill’s plans for the coming decade?

Tilot: John Cockerill is one of the largest manufacturers of electrolysers in the world. Currently, we have one manufacturing plant in China, with a 1 GW/yr capacity. We are also building a factory in Europe, between France and Belgium, that will manufacture its first electrolyser in the fourth quarter of this year. We are already planning a second factory in Europe, which we hope to announce formally this year, and which would bring our manufacturing capacity in Europe from 1GW/yr to 2GW/yr.

We have also entered into a joint venture with Greenko, the largest Indian producer of green electricity, for a facility in India where construction will start in the coming months. The plant will be able to manufacture some equipment within two years, with construction fully completed within three years. The initial capacity will be 1GW/yr, which we have the ambition of doubling fairly quickly.

Last month, we announced a joint venture with one of the key local energy and infrastructure investors in Morocco. It will manufacture electrolysers locally and will first target local projects but also look to export.

In the Middle East, we are in advanced discussions with a limited number of partners with the same objective—to manufacture local electrolysers for the region. We also hope to make an announcement this year regarding that.

We have decided to accelerate even further in North America following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. We are selecting sites for a factory and intend to take an investment decision in the second half of this year. We have an ambition to have 8GW/yr operational or under construction by 2025.

Are there benefits to manufacturing locally?

Tilot: We strongly believe that there are. The equipment we make is large and heavy and requires maintenance after approximately eight years—that is made easier with local manufacturing. More and more clients tell us they prefer a local manufacturing source. Sometimes this is encouraged by the authorities, sometimes it is because of subsidies. There is also a desire in some places to create indirect economic benefits and jobs.

Furthermore, the designs of the electrolysers we manufacture can be quite different from one region to another because the needs of the client are not always the same. Each region has its own standards. CE/EN standards in Europe, ASME standards in North America and Guobiao Standards in China. That means changes in the materials, in the quality and grade of the steel, and the design and engineering of the equipment. Also, differing regional electricity prices mean the trade-off is not always the same between capex and opex. That leads to some changes in the required efficiency, and thus design of, the equipment.

Other electrolyser manufacturers have complained about the lack of FIDs being taken to create demand for equipment in the EU. Do you see the same problem?

Tilot: The EU has taken some time—some would say too much time—to confirm its subsidies. Having said that, we are one of a limited number of companies selected for the Important Projects of Common European Interest scheme, and so we will be one of the beneficiaries of significant subsidies to support hydrogen technologies in Europe. So we do see the money coming.

1 GW/yr – John Cockerill’s manufacturing capacity in China

At the same time, the Chinese market has had great momentum and is probably 2–4 years ahead of the rest of the world. We are learning a lot in China through our China-based subsidiary, Cockerill Jingli Hydrogen, founded in 2018, that we can apply to other regions in terms of the efficiency of the manufacturing process, of commissioning, of project execution and of interfaces with the equipment and the power supply. If we look at the volume we are delivering in China it was more than 200MW last year, including some projects that are well above 100MW—some of the largest in the world. We probably will not see this size of project in Europe for another two years or so.

How will you raise the finance for your expansion plans?

Tilot: It will be a mix. In places like China and India, we will raise debt locally and find the right partners—just as we have with Greenko in India. At the level of John Cockerill Group and John Cockerill Hydrogen globally we have many routes available to us in terms of raising debt, or possibly equity, and we are considering several options to enable us to tap into additional sources of funding.

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Author: Tom Young