Brussels, 12 January 2021 – After a year of unprecedented momentum for hydrogen, the Hydrogen Council, a global coalition of CEOs committed to accelerating the energy transition with hydrogen, has today welcomed seventeen new members. Launched by thirteen founding members in 2017, the Council now counts 109 companies from 20+ countries around the world, bringing together an even wider range of sectors along the entire hydrogen value chain.
The Hydrogen Council is joined by six new steering members: CF Industries, Chemours, MSC Group, SABIC, Solvay and Uniper; nine supporting members: ACME, Black & Veatch, Bureau Veritas, Delek US Holdings, Enbridge Gas, PETRONAS, Reliance Industries Limited, Sinoma Science & Technology and Tokyo Gas; and two new investors: GIC and Natixis. With these new members, the Hydrogen Council continues to grow not only in size, but also in diversity.
The new members are headquartered across Europe, the United States and Asia, and represent sectors including shipping and logistics (MSC Group), chemicals (Chemours, SABIC, Solvay), energy infrastructure and distribution (Uniper, Delek US Holdings, Enbridge Gas, PETRONAS, Tokyo Gas), ammonia production (CF Industries), material technology (Sinoma Science & Technology), testing and certification (Bureau Veritas), engineering and construction (Black & Veatch) and finance (GIC, Natixis). Solar energy company ACME and conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited are the first Indian companies to join the Council.
The announcement comes as the Hydrogen Council and the hydrogen industry worldwide are ramping up efforts for the next stage in the development of the global hydrogen economy.
“We’re delighted to welcome seventeen new companies to our global initiative. The variety of industries and geographies represented in the Hydrogen Council demonstrates a widespread understanding that hydrogen is a key element of the global effort for a low-carbon future. Our group will continue to play its strategic guidance role to bring hydrogen markets to scale,” said Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide and Co-chair of the Hydrogen Council.
Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of Toyota Motor Corporation and Co-chair of the Hydrogen Council added: “Hydrogen can help deliver a cleaner future for our economies and societies. Backed by the experience and data provided by 100+ companies, the Hydrogen Council can help the industry to grow and deliver competitive projects.”
On 18-19 January 2021, the CEOs of Hydrogen Council member companies will convene virtually for the coalition’s annual meeting to set priorities for the year to come. “I look forward to this great opportunity to bring together a strong group of leaders to discuss the decisive action needed to turn recent public support for hydrogen into positive outcomes,” said Daryl Wilson, Executive Director of the Hydrogen Council. “In 2020, a long list of countries and regions announced new hydrogen strategies and committed to concrete targets and financing support for hydrogen as part of their sustainable recovery plans. In 2021, Council members will work to channel this momentum into bold action.”
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About the Hydrogen Council:
The Hydrogen Council is a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition. Using its global reach to promote collaboration between governments, industry and investors, it provides guidance on accelerating the deployment of hydrogen solutions around the world. The Council believes that hydrogen has a key role to play in the global energy transition by helping to diversify energy sources worldwide, foster business and technological innovation as drivers for long-term economic growth, and decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. The Council acts as a business marketplace, bringing together a diverse group of 109 companies based in 20+ countries and across the entire hydrogen value chain, including large multinationals, innovative SMEs, and investors. The Hydrogen Council serves as a resource for safety standards and an interlocutor for the investment community, while identifying opportunities for regulatory advocacy in key geographies. To find out more visit www.hydrogencouncil.com and follow us on Twitter @HydrogenCouncil and LinkedIn.
Hydrogen Council Press Office (FTI Consulting):
Ciel Jolley, +32 2 289 09 30 – Ciel.Jolley@fticonsulting.com
Evelyne Bauer, +32 477 56 26 15 – Evelyne.Bauer@fticonsulting.com
About our new members:
Steering Members
CF Industries: CF Industries is a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for clean energy, emissions abatement, fertilizer, and other industrial applications. We operate manufacturing complexes in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which are among the most cost-advantaged, efficient, and flexible in the world and an unparalleled storage, transportation and distribution network in North America. Our 3,000 employees focus on safe and reliable operations, environmental stewardship and disciplined capital and corporate management, driving our strategy to leverage and sustainably grow the world’s most advantaged hydrogen and nitrogen platform to serve customers, creating long-term shareholder value.
Chemours: The Chemours Company, a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Fluoroproducts, and Chemical Solutions, is a different kind of chemistry company, dedicated to making chemistry as responsible as it is essential. The company has approximately 7,000 employees and 28 manufacturing sites serving approximately 3,700 customers in over 120 countries. Chemours operates at scale the full supply chain in the Nafion™ ion exchange products. Chemours is committed to enabling Green Hydrogen Gas Producers and the Fuel Cell Manufacturers to technically and competitively answer some of the challenges set by the Hydrogen Council for using a cleaner supply chain and enabling the clean green hydrogen economy.
MSC Group: MSC Group is a global business engaged in the transport and logistics sector, encompassing a Cargo Division with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), MEDLOG, and a Passenger Division with MSC Cruises complemented by Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) and SNAV. Today, the Group employs more than 70,000 people across the globe. The Group is actively looking into alternative fuels and technologies to decarbonise its operations and considers hydrogen to be one of the key long-term solutions available. www.msc.com
SABIC: SABIC is a global diversified chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high-performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals. SABIC supports its customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end-use applications such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy. Production in 2019 was 72.6 million metric tons. The company has more than 33,000 employees worldwide and operates in around 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, SABIC has 12,540 global patent filings, and has significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies – USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and North Asia.
Solvay: Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program. Learn more at www.solvay.com.
Uniper: Uniper is a leading international energy company with around 11,500 employees and activities in more than 40 countries. With about 34 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2019, Uniper had a gas turnover of 220 bcm. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, being the third-largest listed German utility. Under its new strategy, Uniper aims to become carbon-neutral in Europe by 2035.
Supporting Members
ACME: ACME Cleantech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is an innovative clean & green technology company based in Gurgaon, India. The company has strong presence in Indian Solar Sector with portfolio of over 5GWp and ranked 3rd globally in solar PV asset ownership. The company is focusing on efficiency and cost optimisation of electrolyser along with operation of plant on variable power. Our objective is to maximise utilisation of Green Hydrogen across various sectors by getting benefit of the low-cost renewable energy power which is continuously observing a downward price trend. In our first pilot project in Rajasthan, we are demonstrating production of Green Hydrogen and converting it into Green Ammonia.
Black & Veatch: Black & Veatch is an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries by addressing the resilience and reliability of our world’s most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2019 were US$3.7 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.
Bureau Veritas: Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 75,000 employees located in more than 1,500 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility. Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index. Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI. For more information, visit www.bureauveritas.com, and follow us on Twitter (@bureauveritas) and LinkedIn.
Delek US Holdings Inc.: Founded in 2001, Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DK) is a downstream energy company with assets in petroleum refining, logistics and convenience store retailing.
REFINING SEGMENT Delek US’ subsidiaries own and operate four refineries in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, with capacity of 302,000 barrels per day. Delek US’ refining system produces and consumes hydrogen.
LOGISTICS SEGMENT Delek US beneficially owns a percentage of Delek Logistics Partners, LP. Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL) is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets.
RETAIL SEGMENT The retail business operates approximately 250 convenience stores and fuelling stations.
Enbridge Gas: Enbridge Gas is Canada’s largest natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario, with more than 170 years of service to customers. The distribution business provides safe, affordable, reliable energy to about 3.8 million homes, businesses and industries and is leading the transition to a clean energy future through net-zero emissions targets in our operations and investments in innovative low-carbon energy solutions including hydrogen. The storage and transmission business offers storage and transportation services to customers at the Dawn Hub, the largest integrated underground storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America. Enbridge Gas is owned by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian-based leader in energy transportation and distribution. Learn more at enbridgegas.com.
PETRONAS: Established in 1974, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) is a global energy and solutions company, ranked amongst the largest corporations on Fortune Global 500®️. In 2019, PETRONAS ventured into the Renewables space by establishing the New Energy business unit to spearhead its entry into the Solar and Wind business. In 2020, PETRONAS declared its aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and introduced its Hydrogen business, which joins the Liquefied Natural Gas, Gas & Power and New Energy businesses under the company’s Gas and New Energy division, the Company’s one-stop centre for cleaner energy solutions. With the strategic locations of its facilities across Malaysia, coupled with technological and technical capabilities, PETRONAS is well-positioned to meet the rising demand of hydrogen, especially in the key markets of Japan and Korea.
Reliance Industries Limited: Reliance Industries Limited is a Fortune 500 company and the largest corporation in India with an integrated play across energy, materials, retail, entertainment and digital services. In the recent Annual General Meeting, Chairman Mr. Mukesh Ambani articulated Reliance’s vision of a New Energy businesses which is deeply aligned with India’s roadmap for clean energy to meet its commitments to the Paris Convention. Our ultimate goal is to create an optimal mix of reliable, clean and affordable energy using wind, solar, hydrogen and battery. Hydrogen is a key component of the New Energy business. We envision replacing our transportation fuels with hydrogen and clean electricity. We plan to combine our cross-functional strengths to build an integrated hydrogen ecosystem in India.
Sinoma Science and Technology: Sinoma Science & Technology Co., Ltd. is the birthplace of China’s special fiber composite materials technology. With 17,000 employees and total sales of € 1.73 billion in 2019. Its products are widely used in wind power generation, new energy mobility, aerospace, energy saving and emission reduction. In the field of hydrogen energy applications, Sinoma led the development of a number of national hydrogen storage and transportation projects and participated in China’s Type III hydrogen cylinder standards writing. Its high-pressure composite cylinders and tubes are widely used in hydrogen fuel vehicles, hydrogen storage and transportation equipment, drones, etc. For more information, please visit: www.sinomatech.com/cn/
Tokyo Gas: Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. is Japan’s largest provider of city gas, and has also been focusing on electric power businesses in recent years. The total number of customers is over 11 million, primarily in the Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding Kanto region. In its overall business activities, Tokyo Gas aims to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions, including customer emissions, and lead the transition to a climate-neutral society. It engages in the development of technology targeted toward the establishment of infrastructure as well as advanced utilisation of hydrogen. It has sold more than 130,000 units of residential fuel cell systems and now operates four hydrogen refuelling stations, one of which supplies hydrogen generated from carbon offset liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Investor Group
GIC: Headquartered in Singapore and with investments in over 40 countries, GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. As a long-term investor across multiple sectors, decarbonisation and energy transition are important themes as sustainability is core to GIC’s mandate. GIC’s Infrastructure group sees hydrogen as a crucial and necessary component in achieving the world’s decarbonisation targets due to its versatility in applications across a range of sectors, from transportation, energy storage, heating and power to feedstock in industrial and agricultural sectors. As a global investor in energy and transport infrastructure, GIC is positioning itself to invest in emerging opportunities in the hydrogen economy.
Natixis: Natixis is a French multinational financial services firm specialised in asset & wealth management, corporate & investment banking, insurance and payments. A subsidiary of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France through its two retail banking networks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne, Natixis counts nearly 16,000 employees across 38 countries. Its clients include corporations, financial institutions, sovereign and supranational organisations, and the customers of Groupe BPCE’s networks.