Air Liquide and Holcim Sign Agreement

Air Liquide and Holcim sign agreement on decarbonization project for Holcim's new cement plant under development in Belgium. The project will use Air Liquide's innovative and proprietary CryocapTM CO₂ capture technology. Air Liquide and Holcim have applied to the European Innovation Fund for financing. This partnership represents an important step in accelerating industrial decarbonization in Belgium. The new cement plant will replace an existing facility. Holcim, which will benefit from Air Liquide's innovative carbon capture technology, will be able to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by up to 1.1 million tonnes annually. This partnership will be part of GO4Zero, Holcim's investment program aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in Belgium by 2030. Supporting this initiative with its unique knowledge base and expertise in carbon capture technologies, Air Liquide aims to build and operate a facility using innovative and proprietary CryocapTM Oxy technology to capture and purify up to 95% of CO₂ emitted from Holcim's Obourg site. The captured CO₂ will subsequently be transported via the Antwerp@C* CO₂ Export Hub, liquefied and loaded onto CO₂ vessels for permanent and safe offshore storage. Project implementation will be enabled through public financing provided by the European Union for decarbonization-supporting projects. In this context, Air Liquide and Holcim jointly applied to the European Innovation Fund, one of the world's largest programs to promote innovative low-carbon technologies. Regarding this cooperation, Pascal Vinet, Member of the Executive Committee and Senior Vice President responsible for Air Liquide Group Europe, stated: "Decarbonization of industry lies at the heart of our ADVANCE strategy. We will support our customers by providing a wide range of innovative solutions. For example, Air Liquide's proprietary CryocapTM technology is an ideal solution for decarbonizing the cement industry. This cooperation with Holcim demonstrates our ability to work alongside our customers to significantly reduce CO₂ footprint and turn industrial decarbonization into reality. Air Liquide aims to actively contribute to the emergence of a low-carbon industry in line with sustainable development goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050." Air Liquide, a world leader in gases, technology and services for industry and health, serves more than 3.9 million customers and health customers with approximately 67,100 employees in 73 countries. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are molecules that form the building blocks of life and energy and have been at the foundation of Air Liquide's operations since its founding in 1902. Taking action today to prepare the future lies at the heart of Air Liquide's strategy. With the ADVANCE 2025 strategic program, Air Liquide aims for performance that blends financial and non-financial dimensions; drawing strength from its resilient and robust business model, innovation generation capacity and technology expertise to establish positions in new markets. The Group produces solutions that contribute positively to climate and energy transformation, particularly focusing on hydrogen, and contributes to work in areas such as health, digital and advanced technologies. Air Liquide's revenue exceeded EUR 29.9 billion in 2022. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris Euronext exchange and trades on the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indices.