Air Liquide CEO Michael Graff to discuss decarbonization in Chemical Week Executive Conversation

Decarbonization is coming quickly to the global chemicals industry, and Michael Graff, chairman & CEO of American Air Liquide, will be speaking with Chemical Week and IHS Markit about his company's current activities and long-term plans in a "Chemical Week Executive Conversation" on 13 September.

Registration for the event is here.

Air Liquide outlined new environment, social, and governance objectives in March to complement its sustainable growth strategy, including firm targets to start lowering its absolute CO2 emissions by 2025.

Air Liquide is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, with key intermediary milestones in 2025 and 2035. The 2025 target to start reducing its absolute CO2 emissions will be followed by a goal of achieving a 33% reduction in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions by 2035, using 2020 as its comparative starting point. The company's market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2020 were 32.5 million metric tons.

Graff will discuss from a regional perspective Air Liquide's key carbon management projects and the potential role of carbon management in helping governments and companies meet their emissions-reduction targets and reach climate neutrality.

Among the company's intentions are deploying solutions to help clients decrease their CO2 footprint and, possibly, "an asset takeover strategy with an objective to decarbonize them," according to prior announcements.

Air Liquide sees business opportunities in the emerging hydrogen sector linked to reducing carbon emissions from the industrial sector, heavy-duty trucking, and elsewhere. The company said in March it will invest approximately $9.5 billion in the hydrogen supply chain as part of its carbon-neutrality goals and aim to accelerate its hydrogen developments to "at least triple" its annual revenue from hydrogen activities to more than $7.5 billion by 2035.

The company is aiming for 3 GW of electrolysis capacity to produce green hydrogen by 2030, and it might use renewable feedstocks such as biomethane as well.