Total Energies Green Hydrogen Strategy, Over €1 B Air Liquide Deal, a $16 B Chile Project, and 3 Mega-Projects (2021 to 2025)

2 Major Strategies, Total Energies De-risks Green Hydrogen Projects

In 2025, Total Energies executed a disciplined, dual-pronged hydrogen strategy that moved from planning to large-scale execution, focusing on decarbonizing its own European refineries while simultaneously developing massive, export-oriented green energy hubs. This approach mitigates market risk by creating a guaranteed internal demand for green hydrogen, which in turn justifies the significant capital expenditure required for new production facilities. The strategy leverages partnerships with industrial and energy leaders to accelerate deployment and secure feedstock, positioning the company to capture value across the emerging hydrogen value chain.

Total Energies Focus on Refinery Decarbonization

The primary pillar of the company’s strategy involves replacing grey hydrogen used in its industrial processes with green and low-carbon hydrogen. This directly addresses its Scope 1 emissions and aligns with its 2025 goal to power its European and U.S. facilities with low-carbon energy. By acting as the primary offtaker for these new hydrogen projects, Total Energies creates a closed-loop system that de-risks investment and ensures project bankability, a model similarly being pursued by peers like Phillips 66 for its assets.

• In February 2025, Total Energies and Air Liquide announced a joint venture to invest over €1 billion in large-scale electrolyzer projects in Northern Europe. These projects, including a 200 MW unit in Antwerp, are designed to supply green hydrogen to Total Energies’ regional refineries.
• In March 2025, the company secured a long-term offtake agreement with RWE for approximately 30, 000 metric tons per year of green hydrogen. This supply is designated for the Leuna refinery in Germany, demonstrating a clear commitment to sourcing low-carbon feedstock for its core operations.

Total Energies Global Export Hub Development

Concurrently, Total Energies is leveraging its expertise in managing complex, large-scale energy projects to build a portfolio of global green hydrogen and e-fuel export facilities. This strategy targets regions with abundant renewable resources to produce low-cost hydrogen derivatives for international markets, competing with national efforts from players like Saudi Aramco and Qatar Energy.

• In May 2025, the company initiated the permitting process for the $16 billion H 2 Magallanes project in Chile. The project aims to produce green hydrogen and ammonia for export, with operations planned to start in 2030.
• Through its TEH 2 joint venture with Chariot, Total Energies is advancing Project Nour in Mauritania, a 10 GW green hydrogen development aiming to produce 1.7 million tons of hydrogen and 10 million tons of ammonia annually.
• In December 2025, Total Energies and its partners advanced the $1.8 billion Live Oak project in Nebraska. The facility is designed to produce up to 200, 000 tons of e-methane (e-NG) per year for export to Japan, marking a significant entry into the synthetic fuels market.

Total Energies Over $18 B in Hydrogen Project Commitments (2025)

The year 2025 marked a turning point in Total Energies’ capital allocation towards hydrogen, with project announcements totaling over $18 billion across green hydrogen, ammonia, and e-methane. This financial commitment, part of the company’s overall $17.1 billion annual investment budget, signals a decisive move to build a material low-carbon business. Unlike the more cautious approaches seen from competitors like Exxon Mobil, which has faced offtake challenges, Total Energies is leveraging its integrated model to underpin these large investments.

Capital for European Decarbonization

A significant portion of the new investment is directed at decarbonizing Total Energies’ own European operations. This capital is not speculative but is tied to achieving specific, internal emissions reduction targets, providing a clear and immediate return on investment through operational efficiency and carbon compliance. This contrasts with strategies focused purely on merchant market sales.

• The partnership with Air Liquide entails a joint investment of over €1 billion (approximately $1.1 billion) for electrolyzers in Northern Europe. This investment directly supports the goal of cutting 450, 000 tons of CO 2 emissions annually from the company’s refineries.
• The green hydrogen produced will be powered in part by renewable energy sources, aligning with the company’s broader offshore wind development strategy, which aims to create integrated energy systems.

Funding for Global Green Energy Exports

The most substantial financial commitments are for world-scale export projects. These investments are designed to establish Total Energies as a major future supplier in the global green energy trade, capitalizing on its logistical and project management strengths honed in the LNG market. The scale of these projects demonstrates an ambition to create new energy export corridors.

• The $16 billion H 2 Magallanes project in Chile represents one of the largest green hydrogen investments announced globally, positioning Total Energies to supply future Asian and European markets with green ammonia.
• The $1.8 billion Live Oak e-NG project in the U.S. diversifies the company’s low-carbon portfolio into synthetic fuels, targeting markets like Japan that are seeking direct replacements for natural gas.

Table: Total Energies Key Hydrogen and E-Fuel Project Investments Announced in 2025

Strategic Alliances, Total Energies 3 Key Hydrogen Partnerships

Total Energies’ 2025 hydrogen strategy relies heavily on forming strategic partnerships with companies that bring specialized expertise, market access, or critical infrastructure. This collaborative approach allows the company to de-risk complex projects and accelerate timelines by leveraging the core competencies of its partners. Instead of building every capability internally, Total Energies acts as a system integrator, a strategy also employed by competitors like Shell in its industrial decarbonization efforts.

Total Energies and Air Liquide Alliance

The joint venture with Air Liquide is foundational to Total Energies’ European decarbonization plans. It combines Total Energies’ access to renewable power and large-scale industrial demand with Air Liquide’s deep expertise in hydrogen production, storage, and distribution technology. This synergy is designed to optimize the entire value chain from power generation to hydrogen consumption.

Total Energies, RWE, and Offtake Agreements

The long-term offtake agreement with RWE for the Leuna refinery is a critical move to secure a reliable supply of green hydrogen from a major renewable energy producer. This deal provides demand certainty for RWE’s own hydrogen production projects while guaranteeing Total Energies a source of low-carbon feedstock, showcasing a symbiotic relationship between energy producers and consumers.

Table: Total Energies Key Hydrogen Partnerships and Alliances (2025)

Europe vs. Global South, Total Energies Geographic Hydrogen Strategy

Total Energies is implementing a distinct, geographically segmented strategy for its hydrogen business. In Europe, the focus is on decarbonizing its own industrial assets with locally produced green hydrogen. In the Global South, the strategy is to develop large-scale export hubs in countries with world-class renewable resources, effectively creating new, green energy supply chains.

Total Energies’ European Hydrogen Footprint

Activity in Europe is concentrated in established industrial corridors where the company has a significant operational presence. Projects in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany are designed to integrate with existing refineries and petrochemical plants, leveraging proximity to demand and infrastructure.

• The partnership with Air Liquide focuses on the Antwerp-Rotterdam industrial cluster, with plans for a 200 MW electrolyzer in Antwerp and another 250 MW joint venture project in the Netherlands.
• The RWE offtake agreement directly serves the Leuna refinery in Eastern Germany, a key industrial hub.
• In France, Total Energies continues to support the development of a multi-technology green hydrogen project at its La Mède biorefinery.

Total Energies’ Export-Oriented Hubs

Outside of Europe, project selection is driven by the availability of low-cost solar and wind resources. This approach aims to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives like ammonia and e-methane at a globally competitive cost for export to demand centers in Asia and Europe, a model also being pursued by Chevron in certain regions.

• Chile was selected for the $16 billion H 2 Magallanes project due to its exceptional wind resources in the Patagonia region.
• Mauritania’s combination of high-quality solar and wind resources underpins the 10 GW Project Nour, positioning it as a potential future energy supplier to Europe.
• The U.S. was chosen for the Live Oak e-NG project due to its abundant renewable electricity and established infrastructure, creating a pathway for e-fuel exports to Japan.

Commercial Scale Focus, Total Energies Green Hydrogen and E-Fuels

In 2025, Total Energies’ hydrogen initiatives demonstrated a clear pivot away from small, exploratory pilots toward deploying technology at commercial scale. The projects announced are not for research but for material production, involving multi-hundred-megawatt electrolyzers and industrial-scale e-fuel facilities. This signifies a belief that the core technologies, primarily electrolysis and methanation, are sufficiently mature for large-scale industrial application.

Large-Scale Electrolyzer Deployment

The company is investing in large electrolyzer projects that far exceed the scale of typical demonstration projects seen in the 2021-2024 period. These facilities are designed to produce significant volumes of hydrogen required for refinery operations. This move to scale is similar to strategies seen in the U.S. refining sector with companies like Marathon Petroleum.

• The joint venture with Air Liquide includes plans for a 200 MW electrolyzer in Antwerp and a new 250 MW unit, both dedicated to industrial decarbonization.
• The green hydrogen for the Leuna refinery, sourced from RWE, will also come from large, newly-built electrolysis capacity, contributing to a total offtake of 30, 000 tons per year.

Pioneering E-Methane Production

Total Energies is also taking a leading role in the nascent e-fuels market by advancing the Live Oak project. This facility moves beyond hydrogen to create a drop-in replacement for natural gas, demonstrating the commercial application of methanation technology to produce e-NG for export.

• The $1.8 billion Nebraska project is designed to produce 200, 000 tons of e-methane annually by combining green hydrogen with biogenic CO 2.
• By targeting exports to Japan, Total Energies and its partners are validating a commercial model for e-fuels as a traded commodity, moving it from a theoretical concept to a bankable project.

SWOT Analysis, Total Energies Hydrogen Execution Model

Total Energies’ hydrogen strategy in 2025 solidified around its core strength in large-scale project execution and its integrated energy model. The primary strategic shift validated the use of its own refinery network as a guaranteed offtaker, de-risking initial green hydrogen investments. However, the company’s ambition in global export markets exposes it to significant geopolitical and market development risks.

Table: SWOT Analysis for Total Energies Hydrogen Initiatives

Total Energies 2026 Outlook, Final Investment Decisions and Offtake

The critical factor for Total Energies’ hydrogen strategy in the coming 18-24 months is the conversion of its ambitious project pipeline into Final Investment Decisions (FIDs), particularly for its global-scale export hubs. Progress will be dictated not by technological readiness but by the ability to secure binding, long-term offtake agreements that underpin the multi-billion-dollar financing required for these ventures.

Monitoring H 2 Magallanes and Nour Progress

The forward-looking signals for the company’s export strategy lie in Chile and Mauritania. Securing environmental permits for H 2 Magallanes and advancing pre-FEED work for Project Nour are necessary steps, but the true litmus test will be the announcement of anchor customers for the green ammonia output.

Tracking E-Fuel Offtake from Live Oak

For the Live Oak e-NG project, the focus will be on formalizing the initial agreements with Japanese partners into firm, bankable offtake contracts. The success of this project could serve as a commercial blueprint for a new global e-fuels market, and its progress will be watched closely by the industry.

• If Total Energies announces an FID for the H 2 Magallanes project in Chile, watch for the simultaneous announcement of binding offtake agreements with major industrial or shipping companies in Asia or Europe.
• These could be happening: Advanced negotiations are likely underway with Japanese and South Korean utilities and industrial conglomerates for both green ammonia and e-methane supply, leveraging existing LNG trade relationships.
• If construction begins on the 250 MW electrolyzer with Air Liquide ahead of schedule, watch for announcements of additional renewable power purchase agreements to supply the facility.
• These could be happening: Total Energies is likely expanding its portfolio of offshore wind and solar projects in Northern Europe specifically to power its green hydrogen ambitions, creating a fully integrated system.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of TotalEnergies’ hydrogen strategy. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Chile green hydrogen projects offtake agreements
• Shell hydrogen strategy for refineries
• Electrolyzer factory capacity and lead times
• Japanese companies buying green ammonia and e-fuels

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