Today, most of the hydrogen production worldwide requires natural gas and releases CO₂. Air Liquide is working to develop solutions that will enable us to decarbonize the production of hydrogen. Various avenues are being explored: the use of renewable electricity for the electrolysis of water, biogas, and the capture and storage of CO₂. The objective of the Blue Hydrogen program initiated by the Group in October 2011 is to ensure that by 2020 at least 50% of the hydrogen used for energy applications is produced without releasing any CO₂. Blue Hydrogen serves as a transition model in the journey to a new energy mix that reconciles high environmental standards and socioeconomic constraints.

The Group is also innovating in the development of the infrastructure for the distribution and the storage of hydrogen by designing cylinders made of composites capable of resisting high pressure and efficient hydrogen distribution stations.

In the area of fuel cells, the efforts of Air Liquide focus on the optimization of both performance and durability, as well as on reducing manufacturing costs which have already been cut by a factor of six in just ten years.

Air Liquide is also working to identify and manage the risks related to the use of hydrogen. Thanks to this work, the Group has a leading role in the implementation of the regulations that are indispensable to the safe use of hydrogen by the general public.