TotalEnergies (Paris, France) and Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.) have signed a 15-year agreement for the annual supply in Europe of 70,000 tons of green hydrogen starting in 2030. This first long-term deal follows TotalEnergies’ call for tenders for the supply of 500,000 tons per year of green hydrogen to decarbonize TotalEnergies’ European refineries.
Under the agreement, Air Products will deliver at TotalEnergies’ Northern European refineries’ doorstep, green hydrogen from Air Products’ global supply network. This hydrogen will avoid around 700,000 tons of CO₂ each year. The contract awarded to Air Products is a first step towards achieving TotalEnergies’ objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from its operated oil and gas operations (Scope 1+2) by 40% by 2030 compared to 2015 levels.
Air Products, worldwide leader in terms of hydrogen supply, has been a first mover, committing more than $15 billion dollars to real, large-scale energy transition projects and launching several large low carbon hydrogen projects in the world, making it a leading and reliable supplier.
“This deal with Air Products, the first signed following the call for tenders launched last year, is a steppingstone towards our goal of decarbonizing the hydrogen used in TotalEnergies’ refineries in Northern Europe by the end of the decade. We are proud to partner with Air Products, a pioneer in low carbon hydrogen production, under the leadership of Seifi Ghasemi. Once again, we demonstrate our capacity to pioneer the energy transition and contribute to the emergence of a green hydrogen industry by offering long-term contracts with our six refineries and two biorefineries in Europe. We are also happy to extend our partnership with Air Products by becoming ourselves a supplier of green power to Air Products and contributing to Air Products’ own decarbonization roadmap,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.
“Today, one of the largest energy companies in the world has committed to use renewable hydrogen to decarbonize its refineries in Northern Europe, and we at Air Products are honored and proud to be the producer and supplier of the green hydrogen required,” said Air Products’ Chairman, President and CEO Seifi Ghasemi. Noting that Air Products started on the journey of producing clean hydrogen seven years ago, Seifi Ghasemi added, “We always believed that if we made clean hydrogen available at commercial scale, the demand would be there. This contract validates our long-term strategy. Clearly the demand is here, and it will grow significantly as we move forward, playing an essential role in decarbonizing heavy industry and other sectors. I also want to express my admiration for Mr. Patrick Pouyanné’s vision and courage in acting as a first-mover towards creating a cleaner future for the world.”
At the same time, TotalEnergies and Air Products have signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of renewable power, which entails the signing of a first Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 150 MW produced at a solar project in Texas. The parties also plan to explore together further PPA opportunities in the UK, Poland and France. This agreement, which strengthens the partnership between TotalEnergies and Air Products, will contribute to Air Products‘ decarbonization roadmap and is in line with TotalEnergies’ integrated electricity strategy along the value chain.
TotalEnergies and the decarbonization of its European refineries
TotalEnergies is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of producing, converting and supplying energy to its customers. One of the levers identified by the Company is to use green or low carbon hydrogen to decarbonize its European refineries, a move that should help reduce its CO₂ emissions by around five million tons a year by 2030.