Air Liquide to build green hydrogen plant for TotalEnergies' La Mede biorefinery

Air Liquide plans to invest more than Eur80 million ($87 million) to build a major renewable hydrogen facility at TotalEnergies' La Mede biorefinery in southern France, marking a significant push toward greener fuel production in one of Europe's key industrial hubs.

Air Liquide will build, own and operate a 25,000 mt/year green hydrogen unit, scheduled to begin operations in 2028, that produces hydrogen from recycled biogenic byproducts rather than fossil fuels, the Paris-based industrial gas giant said Nov. 22.

The facility will support TotalEnergies' drive to slash emissions at its Mediterranean coast site by 130,000 mt of CO2 annually.

This latest investment strengthens Air Liquide's position in the strategic Fos-sur-Mer industrial basin, where it already operates multiple production facilities and Europe's first high-pressure hydrogen fueling station for heavy-duty trucks. The project follows similar partnerships between the two French energy companies, including renewable hydrogen supply agreements for TotalEnergies' Grandpuits and Gonfreville refineries.

"We are proud to support TotalEnergies in its project to decarbonize the La Mede biorefinery, thanks to our strategic positioning in the Fos-sur-Mer basin," said Emilie Mouren-Renouard, Air Liquide executive committee member overseeing European operations.

The agreement comes as European industrial companies face mounting pressure to decarbonize operations amid stricter environmental regulations and rising carbon prices. The renewable hydrogen sector has seen increased investment as manufacturers seek alternatives to fossil fuel-based processes.

Under the ReFuelEU initiative, SAF must make up at least 2% of aviation fuel in the EU by 2025 and 6% by 2035, rising to 70% by 2050.

TotalEnergies produces SAF at a number of French sites.

Since 2021, biodiesel produced at La Mède has been used to produce SAF at TotalEnergies' Oudalle plant near Le Havre. TotalEnergies is studying the production of SAF through co-processing in its other European refineries by 2025.

At Grandpuits, it is transforming the site into a zero-oil platform. Mainly focused on the production of SAF from the circular economy. Grandpuits will be able to produce 210,000 mt/year of sustainable aviation fuel by 2025, and an additional 75,000 mt/year by 2027.

According to data from Commodity Insights, SAF will account for 0.61% of global aviation fuel consumption in 2024, compared with 0.31% in 2023. This is seen rising to 3.24% in 2030 and 24.06% in 2050, when the total volume will be 2.2 million b/d, compared with 20,000 b/d in 2023.

SAF commands a significant premium to fossil-based fuel. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed SAF on a CIF basis in Northwest Europe at a $1,432.75/mt premium to conventional jet fuel CIF cargoes in the same region Nov. 22.