AIR LIQUIDE ADVANCED BUSINESS

Their core work

Air Liquide Advanced Business is the innovation and business development arm of Air Liquide, one of the world's largest industrial gas companies. Within H2020, they focus on deploying hydrogen infrastructure at commercial scale — from electrolysis-based hydrogen production to refuelling station networks and fuel cell vehicle fleets. Their contribution sits at the intersection of industrial gas expertise and clean mobility, bridging the gap between hydrogen production technology and real-world transport applications. They bring deep operational experience in gas handling, distribution, and station deployment that few research-only partners can match.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2016), Air Liquide focused on building the foundational hydrogen ecosystem: refuelling station rollout, electrolyser demonstration, consumer behaviour studies, and proving the business case for hydrogen mobility (TCO, LCA). By the later period (2017–2019), their focus shifted decisively toward zero-emission applications — particularly fleet vehicles and heavy-duty transport — suggesting a move from proving technology viability to scaling commercial deployment. The progression from individual station economics to grid-scale energy storage also indicates growing ambition in sector coupling.

Air Liquide is moving up the vehicle weight class — from passenger cars to trucks and fleet logistics — positioning for the heavy-duty hydrogen transport market that is expected to scale significantly post-2025.

How they like to work

Air Liquide predominantly joins as a partner (4 of 5 projects) rather than leading, but their single coordination of HyBalance — their largest funded project at EUR 952K — shows they can and do take the lead when the topic aligns with core competence. With 102 unique consortium partners across 12 countries, they operate in large, multi-national demonstration consortia typical of FCH JU projects. This makes them a well-connected infrastructure partner who brings industrial deployment capability rather than research novelty.

With 102 unique partners across 12 countries, Air Liquide has built a broad European hydrogen mobility network spanning vehicle OEMs, station operators, utilities, and research institutes. Their consortia tend to be large (20+ partners), reflecting the multi-actor nature of hydrogen infrastructure demonstration projects.

What sets them apart

Air Liquide brings something rare to hydrogen consortia: the operational muscle of a global industrial gas leader combined with a dedicated innovation unit willing to participate in pre-commercial demonstration. While many partners contribute research or components, Air Liquide can actually build, operate, and maintain hydrogen stations and electrolysers at scale. For any consortium that needs to move beyond the lab and demonstrate real-world hydrogen supply chains, they are one of the few partners who can deliver physical infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HyBalance
  Their only coordinated project and largest funding (EUR 952K), demonstrating grid-balancing electrolysis — a topic that connects hydrogen production directly to renewable energy integration.
• H2Haul
  Their most recent project, extending hydrogen mobility from passenger cars into heavy-duty trucking — signalling a strategic pivot toward freight decarbonisation.
• H2ME
  Part of one of Europe's largest hydrogen mobility initiatives, covering the full chain from stations to vehicles to consumer adoption analysis across multiple countries.