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Total investment exceeds 1 billion yuan! Air Liquide to Build a Hydrogen Supply Facility in Tianjin Author/Source: Energy & Chemical News Date: April 27, 2023 Clicks: 49 Recently, the Tianjin Hydrogen Supply Facility of the French company Air Liquide, which is a key foreign-investment project identified by the Ministry of Commerce, was officially established in the Lingang area of the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. The total investment in this project is expected to exceed 1 billion yuan. In later stages, the project will also include hydrogen production, and once all facilities are in operation, the overall production capacity is expected to exceed 13,000 tons. Recently, the French Air Liquide Group’s hydrogen supply facility, a key foreign-investment project under the Ministry of Commerce, was officially established and put into operation in the Lingang area of the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. This project was funded and constructed by Air Liquide (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as \"Air Liquide China\"). Once operational, it will significantly enhance the hydrogen supply capacity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, contributing to the achievement of the region’s \"dual carbon\" goals. This is the latest achievement of the Binhai New Area delegation’s economic and trade promotion activities in France, demonstrating the accelerating growth of Sino-French economic and trade cooperation as well as French companies’ firm confidence in the development opportunities available in the Chinese market. Air Liquide’s investments in Tianjin are primarily concentrated in the Binhai New Area. To date, 5 companies have been established there, two of which are located in the free trade zone area near the port: Air Liquide Tianjin Binhai Co., Ltd. and Air Liquide Yongli (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. It is understood that the total investment in the Tianjin hydrogen energy supply base project is expected to exceed 1 billion yuan. The construction will take place in two phases; in the first phase, one hydrogen purification unit, one hydrogen compression and filling unit, along with various supporting utility facilities, are planned to be built. Operation is expected to begin in the second half of 2024 ； In the second phase of the project, an additional hydrogen liquefaction unit will be built at an appropriate time, depending on the development of the hydrogen energy market; it is expected to produce around 10,000 tons of high-purity hydrogen per year. During the economic and trade promotion activities, the two sides also signed the \"Cooperation Framework Agreement between Binhai New Area, Bohua Group, and Air Liquide China,\" the \"Strategic Cooperation Memorandum between Bohua Group and Air Liquide China,\" and the contract for Air Liquide Yongli’s \"fuel-to-electricity\" project and gas supply. According to Luo Chunyu, the head of the Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Office in Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, the free trade zone takes advantage of its regional resources to plan ahead and arrange the development of the hydrogen energy industry in a scientific manner. To date, an industrial chain covering hydrogen production, storage and transportation, core components for fuel cells, as well as demonstration applications has been initially established. The investment in building this hydrogen supply base in Tianjin will further accelerate the development of the regional hydrogen industry. Once the first phase of the project is completed, it will supply high-purity hydrogen for use in vehicles and industrial applications, with an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons. Together with the Bohua hydrogen production facility that is already in operation in the free trade zone, the region’s annual hydrogen production capacity will exceed 4,600 tons, enough to meet approximately 70% of the demand in Tianjin. In the later stages of this project, liquid hydrogen production will also be established; once all facilities are in operation, the total production capacity is expected to exceed 13,000 tons. This will enable the creation of the largest hydrogen supply base in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while simultaneously meeting the demand for hydrogen used in vehicles.