“We’re talking about oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and carbon dioxide,” explains Mario Van Roy, Air Liquide’s Product Manager Bulk and Services. “We can deliver these gases in cryogenic form in bulk — the gas is then delivered to a customer’s tank — or as compressed gas in a trailer.”

Green Origin means that hardly any CO₂ is emitted during gas production and transportation. “The process of filtering oxygen, nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide from the air takes quite a lot of energy. But if that energy is green and we make sure we transport it to the customer in a green manner, we can then say that the gas has been produced with low-CO₂ emissions. We use a similar approach for our green hydrogen. It is produced by electrolysis, such that the electricity needed for the process must be green in origin.”

Local energy sources

“We source our green energy locally in Belgium and the Netherlands, from wind farms and biomass plants. By doing this, we’re investing in the local economy and, since we are in a well-controlled environment, we can be absolutely certain that the energy is 100% green in origin. Furthermore, Vinçotte closely monitors the whole process.”

Vinçotte is an independent inspection body that carries out an annual audit to check whether the Green Origin gas production process - from purification and liquefaction through to storage, filling, transportation and delivery - complies with the ISO 14021:2001 and EIGA IGC guidelines. Air Liquide then receives certification from Vinçotte, allowing Air Liquide to then draw up documents for customers attesting to the gases’ green origins.

"Green Origin is a valuable addition as part of the energy transition”

Ramses Sterckx, Project Engineer at Vinçotte

Vinçotte is the biggest Belgian accredited inspection, audit and certification company. From 16 branches in the Benelux, 2,000 professionals perform audits and certification for more than 60,000 customers.

“An audit for Air Liquide involves checking how much gas (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and carbon dioxide) the company has produced and sold under the Green Origin banner in a particular period,” Ramses Sterckx explains. “Our methodology describes the calculations needed to determine how much green energy has to be purchased to produce a given quantity of Green Origin gases. It takes into account every part of the production process: distillation, liquefaction, storage, filling, transportation and delivery.”

Vinçotte also has access to the Guarantee of Origin (GoO) cancellations. These are certificates confirming that Air Liquide has purchased certain quantities of green energy. “The GoO cancellations also indicate the country of origin, the energy source, such as biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy, and the production period.”

“Air Liquide’s Green Origin programme is certainly a valuable addition in the context of the energy transition, no doubt about that. More and more companies are identifying and reducing their impact on the environment. Green Origin gases can play an important role in this because they can significantly reduce upstream emissions, known as ‘scope 3 emissions’ in the jargon of the sector.”

Growing numbers of Green Origin customers

“The procedure is very thorough and complete. It also has to compensate for the evaporation losses occurring during the storage phase and delivery of the gases. Customers who choose to purchase gases with a Green Origin label receive an official certificate from us every year, stating the gas volumes they have purchased and to what extent CO2 emissions have been avoided as a result.”

“More and more Air Liquide customers are switching over to Green Origin gases. Not just because this makes it easier to achieve CO2 emission targets, but also because it demonstrates commitment to sustainability. And Green Origin gases cost only a small additional annual fee.”

“Sustainability is important but, of course, you don’t want to compromise on service and delivery reliability. We have several large air separation installations and an extensive pipeline network in the Benelux, meaning that we can guarantee delivery continuity. On top of that, we offer a high-quality service tailored to the customer.”

Would you like to know more about the Green Origin offer?
Contact Mario Van Roy, Product Manager, Bulk and Services.