The new "Gigafactory" for electrolysers from Siemens Energy and Air Liquide was opened today in a festive ceremony in Berlin. It is expected to reach a production capacity of around 3 GW per year by 2025. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck were among those present.
Also present were Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy, François Jackow, CEO of Air Liquide, the French Minister of Industry Roland Lescure and other high-ranking representatives of German and French politics. The German government had provided financial support for the research work on the Berlin production plant.
The factory marks a starting point for the series production of electrolysers. The opening is therefore considered a significant step towards the upscaling of green hydrogen production. The annual production capacity starts at one GW, but Siemens Energy and Air Liquide are planning to achieve at least 3 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2025 - with potential for further increases. An installed electrolysis capacity of 3 GW could produce around 300,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
The new factory uses existing infrastructure and will employ experienced staff, according to Siemens. It is being built on an area of 2,000 m² and the investment volume amounts to around €30 million. The stacks produced in Berlin, the heart of the electrolysers, are based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. The stacks are assembled either in Mülheim an der Ruhr or in cooperation with locations close to the respective projects.
German-French hydrogen industry partnership
According to the companies, the Franco-German partnership bundles an extensive project portfolio. Several large-scale projects for the production of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen are planned throughout Europe, including Normand'Hy in France and other projects in Denmark and Sweden.
François Jackow, CEO of the Air Liquide Group, emphasized the need for mass production of electrolysers to provide competitive renewable hydrogen. The technology is already being used in projects such as the Trailblazer electrolyzer in Oberhausen.
The German Federal Ministry of Research and Development had funded the research work required in advance for the Berlin plant as part of the SEGIWA project, which is part of the H2Giga hydrogen lead project.
