French Air Liquide completes construction of hydrogen pipeline for ThyssenKrupp

Air Liquide, an industrial gases company in France, has completed a 4 km hydrogen pipeline to the ThyssenKrupp plant in Duisburg, and the line is part of the H2Stahl laboratory sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection.

In 2019, ThyssenKrupp and Air Liquide tested hydrogen blast furnace technology for the first time to reduce CO2 emissions, and the project was later supported by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia. Due to high prices for natural gas and electricity, the expansion was put on hold. However, the construction of a test facility for the direct extraction of iron was still ongoing.

The pipeline, about 4 km long, connects the steelworks in Duisburg with Air Liquide's hydrogen network in the Ruhr area.

The line is part of the H2Stahl laboratory sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection. Mona Neubaur, Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, attended the opening of the pipeline.

Air Liquide's 200 km hydrogen pipeline network in the Rhine and Ruhr region connects hydrogen production plants and key consumers in Marl, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Krefeld, Leverkusen, Dormagen, Düsseldorf and other cities.

In autumn 2023, the Pioneer in Oberhausen is to become the first 20 MW industrial electrolysis plant to be connected to the Air Liquide H2 network. At the first stage, this will make it possible to supply consumers with up to 2,900 tons of renewable hydrogen per year through the pipeline.