News item | 21-12-2023 | 3:00 PM
The internationally operating company Air Liquide wants to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the Netherlands in the coming years through a tailor-made approach. The letter of intent between the government, the province and Air Liquide was signed today at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK). The company, market leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and healthcare, has set several sustainability goals for the Netherlands, focusing on reducing CO2 emissions, reducing nitrogen emissions and developing the hydrogen market.
Ambitious sustainability goals
Air Liquide wants to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1.05 Megatons by 2030, which is 0.25 Megatons more than the requirements of the Climate Agreement. In addition, Air Liquide wants to almost halve emissions from electricity production by 2030 and aims to reduce nitrogen emissions by 38% or more compared to 2019. With the plans, the company mainly focuses on making the production locations in Rozenburg, Bergen-op more sustainable. -Zoom and Pernis. Air Liquide wants to do this by converting or replacing installation parts, and the company also wants to store CO2 (Carbon Capture Storage). Research is also being conducted at the locations mentioned to improve living environment aspects such as air, soil and water quality. Air Liquide also wants to minimize the emissions of substances into the air, water and soil so that they reach the lower end of the legal standards. That is good for the environment and health.
Micky Adriaansens, Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate: “Making the industry more sustainable brings many opportunities. Each signing accelerates the transition to a greener industry. That is good for our economy and for achieving our sustainability goals. This is the eleventh time that I sign an ambitious declaration of intent, and I am proud of that. Together with Air Liquide we are working on the further development of these projects.”
Hydrogen production and clean transport
Air Liquide Netherlands has the ambition to realize two large-scale renewable hydrogen production projects. The company also contributes to making the transport sector in the Netherlands more sustainable by building hydrogen filling stations and supplying hydrogen. Similar projects are underway for the inland shipping sector, where Air Liquide has developed a concept to convert existing inland vessels to hydrogen. The first inland vessel that runs on hydrogen was recently put into use, the ‘H2 Barge 1’ from Future Proof Shipping.
Next steps for a customized approach
This declaration of intent is an important step towards a binding tailor-made agreement between the government and Air Liquide. In the next phase, the government will work with the company to investigate what the bottlenecks are for making Air Liquide more sustainable and how the government can play a role in removing them. For example, by investigating the possibilities for facilitating a European Carbon Capture Storage market, accelerating permitting processes and exploring subsidy frameworks that are essential for the successful implementation of transition projects.
Air Liquide’s sustainability projects will be developed into concrete plans. These plans are assessed by an independent advisory committee, after which they are recorded in a Joint Letter of Intent. The ambition is to achieve this by 2024. Finally, the agreements are made binding.