French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide has taken the final investment decision (FID) to launch the construction of ELYgator, a 200 MW electrolyzer project in Maasvlakte, at the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The decision follows support from the Dutch government through the OWE subsidy scheme for large-scale hydrogen production via electrolysis, in addition to earlier support from the European Innovation Fund and the Dutch Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) program. Both this support as well as the refined regulatory framework were key to the project’s advancement, according to Air Liquide.
It is understood that the French supplier will invest more than €500 million to build, own, and operate the electrolyzer, which is claimed to be the first of its kind integrating both proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline technologies on the same site.
The project is expected to produce 23,000 tons of renewable hydrogen annually, serving industrial and heavy-duty mobility customers, potentially reducing up to 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year of operation. It aims to be operational by the end of 2027.
As disclosed, the facility will be located at the conversion park in the Maasvlakte area, where electricity from wind farms in the North Sea is used to produce renewable hydrogen.
For the Port of Rotterdam, the project is said to be an “important step in the transition to a CO2-neutral port.”
Emilie Mouren-Renouard, Group Executive Committee Member, notably in charge of supervising activities in Europe, stated: “This investment decision is an important milestone and demonstrates our commitment to renewable hydrogen development. We firmly believe that robust, large-scale initiatives like ELYgator will deliver a real impact for the European industry and heavy-duty mobility sectors.”
“We welcome the support from the Dutch Government, which has been instrumental in our decision to move forward with this significant decarbonization project. ELYgator illustrates our drive to develop concrete technologies and solutions that directly contribute to Europe’s ambitions towards climate neutrality by 2050.”
It is worth mentioning that this electrolyzer plant will notably supply French energy company TotalEnergies’ industrial platform in Antwerp, Belgium.