TotalEnergies, a French oil and gas company, has finalised an agreement with Air Liquide for the long-term supply of TotalEnergies’ refinery in Gonfreville, Normandy, France, with green and low-carbon hydrogen. Air Liquide plans to construct and run the 200-MW Normand’Hy electrolyser, with half of its capacity going to the Gonfreville refinery and the remaining 100 MW going to customers in the Normandy industrial region and supporting low-carbon transportation. Reportedly, Air Liquide will invest over $429 million to construct its Normand’Hy electrolyser.
Overall, the project has received 190 million euros from the French government and is backed by the EU. The project will use proton exchange membrane electrolysis technology and will be situated in the Port-Jerome industrial zone. It will utilise machinery made as a result of the joint venture between Air Liquide and Siemens Energy. According to the agreement between TotalEnergies and Air Liquide, the refinery will receive up to 5,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen and 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually beginning in the second half of 2026. Moreover, to power its 100 MW share of the electrolyser, TotalEnergies will contribute roughly 700 GWh of renewable and low-carbon energy annually. Air Liquide intends to establish long-term renewable power purchase agreements (PPA) for the remaining portion, together with grid-supplied low-carbon electricity. The company also launched a call for tenders to source 500,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
In February 2023, Sasol and Air Liquide Big Industries in South Africa signed 260 MW of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) with French energy company TotalEnergies. The company will produce renewable energy from a 140 MW wind farm and a 120 MW solar plant that it will build in the Northern Cape province. The Secunda site of Sasol received 850 GWh of clean energy per year from these projects.
