Air Liquide welcomes the grant decision selection announced by the European Innovation Fund in favor of its large-scale renewable H₂ project ELYgator in the Netherlands. This electrolyzer project of a 200 MW capacity aims to produce renewable H₂ and contribute to the decarbonization of the Dutch and neighboring countries’ industry and mobility markets. The project has been selected for funding by the European Commission through the European Innovation Fund, out of 139 initial applications.

ELYgator is planned to be in the industrial basin of Terneuzen, in the Netherlands, with the objective to produce 15.5 kilotons of renewable H₂ per year. The electrolyzer will be fully sourced with renewable energy and integrated into the cross-border industrial basin between Netherlands and Belgium. Connection to Air Liquide’s cross-border pipeline network will allow for an optimized combination of flexibility and efficiency, best leveraging the output of renewable power production and considering its intermittency.

The project is subject to additional funding, regulatory approvals, and feasibility assessments prior to commencement. Pioneering projects such as ELYgator are needed to achieve national and European climate ambitions as they can play a role in decarbonization, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors. The ELYgator project would enable the avoidance of 3.3 MMt CO₂ emissions over the first ten years of the plant's operation

The EU Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. Following the positive grant decision, individual grant agreements will be prepared with the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency implementation agency of the Innovation Fund.