Second major blue hydrogen project reaches final investment decision in Rotterdam

Air Liquide, a French industrial gas company, has committed to adding carbon capture technology to an existing grey hydrogen production site in Rotterdam, aiming to produce blue hydrogen for its current clientele.

This decision by Air Liquide follows a similar announcement made six weeks earlier by Air Products, a U.S.-based competitor, which is also converting a grey hydrogen facility in Rotterdam into a blue hydrogen production unit. Air Products claims its facility, set to commence operations in 2026, will be Europe's largest of its kind.

Air Liquide plans to implement its Cryocap carbon capture technology, previously utilized in its blue hydrogen initiative in Port Jerome, France, with an expected operational start by 2026. The Rotterdam facility presently has a production capacity of approximately 130,000 cubic meters (11,685kg) per hour, translating to just over 100,000 tons annually, assuming continuous operation. This is slightly less than the 109,500 tons a year projected for Air Products’ Rotterdam plant.

Both Air Liquide and Air Products will be involved in the Porthos CCS project in the Netherlands for the transportation and storage of CO2. The Porthos project, a collaboration between EBN, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, intends to transport 2.5 million tons of CO2 annually over the next 15 years to depleted offshore gas fields for sub-seabed storage.

The total storage capacity of 37 million tons under Porthos has been pre-contracted to four industrial emitters in Rotterdam, including Air Liquide, Air Products, Shell, and ExxonMobil. In 2021, these companies received €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) in grants from the Dutch government's SDE++ scheme to support the project. While Air Liquide has not disclosed the specific purchasers of the blue hydrogen, it is speculated that they could include one or more oil refineries operating in the port area.