The Walloon engineering company John Cockerill has created a joint venture with French Technip Energies. Rely, as the joint venture is called, will be “a unique provider of integrated and competitive green hydrogen solutions”, the press release says. Together, they intend to build large-scale hydrogen plants.

The two industry leaders share a common objective of driving acceleration in the energy transition. Moreover, they have experience in this sector: Technip Energies has already delivered more than 270 hydrogen installations worldwide, and Cockerill has a market share of more than 20% in the electrolyzer market.

Total solution

Together, they want to offer end-to-end solutions “from pre-investment services, including technical and financial advice, to the supply of own projects, project execution, operation, and maintenance”. The goal is to achieve a turnover of 1 billion euros by 2030.

“Rely will be the bridge between green electricity and green hydrogen or other molecules that can be sold and used,” says Technip CEO Arnaud Pieton. “We want to break down the barriers to the industrialization of the hydrogen sector.”

Large-scale projects

The new joint venture will focus on large-scale projects. It starts with more than 200 hydrogen specialists and plans to grow with teams in the US, India, and the Middle East.

Belgium-based Rely will be 60% owned by Technip Energied and 40% by John Cockerill. Damien Eyrès (Technip Energies) will lead the company; Jean Jouet (John Cockerill) will become Chief Technology Officer.

Answer to  Jo Biden’s IRA

The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo (Open Vld), is pleased that Rely’s Belgian headquarters will be anchored. He sees it as a European industrial project that offers an answer to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act in the US. The De Croo government has always focused on hydrogen as an energy carrier.