The industrial gas producer and energy and fuel trader's first electrolyzer is being built in northeastern France. The production plant is to supply the Florange plant of the international steel producer ArcelorMittal with environmentally friendly H₂ from January 2026. A corresponding cooperation has now been agreed by Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal France, and Dr. Thomas Perkmann, CEO of the Westfalen Group, at the ArcelorMittal site in Florange.

The French subsidiary Westfalen France has been supplying ArcelorMittal's steelworks with H₂ since 2010, which has so far been produced from natural gas. These supplies will now be replaced in an environmentally friendly way from 2026 with the commissioning of the new electrolyzer. The electrolyzer will be built on the steelworks site for direct supply. The newly concluded supply contract between the companies runs until the 2040s.

"The agreement with ArcelorMittal is a great success for our group of companies," emphasized Dr. Thomas Perkmann. "The project will not only promote our good partnership with ArcelorMittal - one of our largest French customers. The implementation will also open further doors for us in the H₂ market and further strengthen our position in the industry, not only in France." France is currently a key foreign market for the family-run company from Münster. Overall, Westfalen wants to invest a double-digit million amount in the project.

In addition to H₂ production, which will be powered by renewable energy in the future, Westfalen also intends to build a new H₂ filling station nearby for trailer and cylinder filling. "The capacity of the electrolyzer is designed so that in addition to supplying the steelworks, additional quantities are also available for the market," said Westfalen France Managing Director Benjamin Bugeat.