The oil company and the industrial gas specialist announce the creation of a joint venture. TotalEnergies and Air Liquide want to develop a network of hydrogen stations for heavy goods vehicles in Europe.
TotalEnergies and Air Liquide hope to deploy more than 100 hydrogen stations in Europe. ©TotalEnergies
While battery-powered electricity is beginning to develop on the truck side, hydrogen is already knocking on the door. To prevent the vehicles concerned from encountering supply problems when the time comes, TotalEnergies and Air Liquide have joined forces. The oil company and the industrial gas specialist have decided to create a joint venture held equally. Its goal will be to develop a network of hydrogen stations.
100 hydrogen stations in Europe
This offer will be aimed at heavy goods vehicles on major European roads. The aim will be to facilitate access to hydrogen and to facilitate its use in the transport of goods. Within a few years, the two groups hope to deploy more than 100 hydrogen stations on major European highways. This concerns France, Germany and Benelux. These stations will be under the TotalEnergies brand.
In this partnership, TotalEnergies will work on the operation and management of the network of stations and the distribution of energy to BtoB customers. Air Liquide will bring its expertise in technologies and the entire hydrogen value chain. The joint venture, which should be formed in 2023, will ensure the investment, construction and operation of the stations. But also the supply of hydrogen on the market and its marketing to transport customers.
“We are convinced of the need to start now“
“After the recent signature of a partnership for the production of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen on our zero oil platform at Grandpuits, we are happy to join forces again with Air Liquide and to continue our common efforts for the decarbonization of the mobility, welcomes Thierry PflimlinChief Marketing & Services Officer of TotalEnergies. We are convinced of the need to embark now on the construction of a heavyweight network for our customers.“
“Hydrogen has real advantages for heavy mobility. In order to promote its large-scale use, it is essential to accelerate the development of refueling infrastructures and to offer vehicle manufacturers and transport operators a sufficiently dense network of stations. This is precisely the ambition of this joint venture, which will benefit from the complementary expertise of Air Liquide and TotalEnergies.“, adds Matthew GiardVice-Chairman and member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee.
