John Cockerill selected for the IPCEI ‘Hy2Tech’ dedicated to the development of the hydrogen technology value chain in Europe

John Cockerill is one of 35 European companies selected within the framework of the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) ‘Hy2Tech’ to participate in the development of a hydrogen technology value chain in Europe. John Cockerill’s project revolves around research and innovation dedicated to the design of a 5 MW, 1000 Nm³/hr alkaline electrolyzer at 30 bar and the industrialization of its large-scale production in Belgium and France. Through this green hydrogen production technology, John Cockerill is contributing to the decarbonization of energy, industry and transport in Europe, and to the fight against climate change.

John Cockerill’s ambition is to develop an electrolyzer production capacity of 1 GW by 2030. This ambition entails, on the one hand, developing large-capacity alkaline electrolyzers (from 5 MW, 1000 Nm³/h at 30 initially, then 10MW and up to 20MW in the long term by increasing the diameter of the cells and/or increasing the current density), and on the other hand, starting up a large-scale electrolyzer production chain in Europe: by 2030, a capacity of 1 GW. This industry will be based on mainly French and exclusively European solutions (intellectual property, technologies, production, etc.) and will be located near the major industrial regions of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

The detailed Press Release is available by clicking here.

For the record, John Cockerill is the world leader in alkaline electrolyzers with 1/3 of the world market. In 2021, it installed 151 MW of the 458 MW of the world market, i.e. a 33% market share. Its turnover for this technology increased threefold in 2021, and it has booked orders for a record cumulative total capacity of 190 MW. John Cockerill is rolling out a number of cooperation actions within the European hydrogen industry: participation in the work of France Hydrogène and the Hyve consortium (Belgium) and development of trail-blazing projects (Columbus with Carmeuse and ENGIE, Hyoffwind in Zeebrugge with BESIX, HaYrport with Liege Airport, Ecomobilité in Metz with Metz Métropole and UEM).