John Cockerill is taking a new step in the establishment of its European manufacturing sector for electrolyzers intended to produce carbon-free hydrogen. The group has filed all the permit applications necessary to transform its Aspach-Michelbach (Alsace) site into a gigafactory.

By the end of 2022, the Aspach site will be redeveloped, equipped with an annex and advanced technologies that will allow it - in addition to its current activity - to produce the key components of electrolyzers. With an initial production capacity of 200 MW of electrolyzers per year, the site will be called upon to increase its manufacturing capacity, with the gradual creation of 400 jobs in Europe, including at least 250 direct jobs in France. 

The transformation of the Aspach site gives France a leading role in the European hydrogen equipment sector of John Cockerill. This sector, dedicated to the development and industrialization of a complete range of electrolyzers and other solutions enabling the production and storage of green hydrogen , will be entirely based on European, and mainly French, technologies and know-how. The diversity of the offer will allow John Cockerill to meet carbon-free hydrogen needs, whether for industrial use or for applications related to mobility.

The sector will also bring together the Seraing site in Belgium and manufacturing sites for gas purification and separation equipment that will be manufactured elsewhere in Europe. As of its commissioning scheduled for the end of 2022 , the sector will have an annual production capacity of 200 MW , which should gradually increase to reach 1 GW by 2030.

“France has made decarbonized hydrogen a central subject to decarbonize its economy. Our gigafactory project echoes this political will and strengthens our roots in Alsace, at the heart of Europe. It is one of the French regions in which we have been operating for many years ”, declared Anne-Françoise Laime, General Delegate France of John Cockerill.