Air Liquide and Siemens Energy have launched their joint gigawatt electrolyser factory in Berlin, Germany – a move that will enable the manufacturing of low-carbon hydrogen at industrial scale.

Expected to ramp-up to an annual production capacity of three gigawatts by 2025, the 2,000m2 factory harnesses robotics and automation for the production of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser modules.

PEM modules use only renewable electricity and water to create green hydrogen through electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be stored as a gas or liquid and can be released into the gas grid, be used as clean vehicle fuel, or in a range of industrial processes.

According to Siemens Energy, global hydrogen demand reached 95m tonnes per year in 2022. Hydrogen is needed as a reducing agent in steel production and cargo vessel operators are now looking to source hydrogen for the production of methanol – often touted as a ‘fuel of the future’ for aviation and mobility.