On the strength of its unique experience and the expertise it has acquired over nearly 50 years, the Group began to develop hydrogen as a vector of clean energy.

The rising demand for energy linked to the emergence of certain developing economies has only further increased our dependency on fossil fuel resources, the supply of which is limited. The extensive and widespread use of these finite fossils also releases high quantities of CO₂ into the atmosphere. This gas is considered by the scientific community to be the principal cause of climate change.

The Group has already broadly integrated these challenges into its development strategy, with energy and the environment constituting two of its five growth drivers.

Hydrogen energy is one of the solutions that address these challenges, in the field of transportation in general and the automobile in particular.

In order to achieve its objective, which is to be ready by 2015—the year that automotive manufacturers plan to begin selling their first hydrogen vehicles—Air Liquide is working via its dedicated subsidiary Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy on the development of a sustainable hydrogen business. For this purpose, the Group designs and adapts technologies for the production and the distribution of hydrogen that are suited to its use in energy applications, and produces and markets fuel cells via its AXANE subsidiary.

The strategy of Air Liquide is based on innovation, management and participation in numerous real life demo programs designed to test these developments in the field and bring the first applications of hydrogen energy to market.