Our innovation journey: From a start-up to a global tech player

Air Liquide was born of the meeting of Georges Claude, the brilliant inventor, and Paul Delorme, the wise businessman.

In 1902, after years of research and fundraising from family and friends, Claude successfully industrialized the production of oxygen from air.

As soon as 1907, Air Liquide started operations in Japan, to meet the growing needs of the naval and railway industries for oxy-acetylene welding.

Air Liquide was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange to fund its development in France and abroad.

In 1918, Georges Claude developed a new process for synthesizing ammonia.

To distinguish this new branch from its main activities, Air Liquide created in 1919 a joint-venture with Saint-Gobain, named la Grande Paroisse.

A collaboration between Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Émile Gagnan, and Jean Delorme resulted in the invention of a revolutionary autonomous diving suit.

In 1946, the Spirotechnique company was founded to manufacture and commercialize this equipment.

To meet post-war demands for oxygen, Air Liquide completely redesigned the transport of its gases. Oxygen was now produced in liquid form, in large centralized units, and transported in lighter composite cylinders.

Air Liquide inaugurated its first oxygen pipeline in 1960 for a customer in the steel industry. Thanks to these pipelines, customers had access to large, reliable and tailored oxygen supplies.

Air Liquide filed its first patent for bleaching paper pulp with oxygen, providing an ecological alternative to chlorine. Following trials at SAPPI in South Africa in 1970, Cellulose d’Aquitaine started its industrial application in 1973.

Air Liquide established its research center in Les Loges-en-Josas, later modernized in 2018 into the Innovation Campus Paris.

Air Liquide est devenu un partenaire clé du programme Ariane, fournissant des gaz industriels et des réservoirs cryogéniques destinés aux lanceurs spatiaux. Le lancement réussi d'Ariane 1 a marqué une étape décisive pour l'exploration spatiale européenne.

From 1983 to 2019, Laboratories and Campuses were established in the U.S., Japan, China, and Germany to connect with leading academic and industrial ecosystems.

In the 90’s, Air Liquide started large-scale hydrogen production to reduce sulfur in fuels, paving the way for its growing role in decarbonization.

Adsorption and membrane technologies allowed gas production directly at customer sites, transforming industrial logistics.

Air Liquide launched Presence^TM, the first medical oxygen cylinder featuring a pressure-reducer valve with integrated flowmeter for fire fighters and hospitals. It was also equipped with an electronic chip to ensure traceability.

Working closely with its customers, Air Liquide developed the ALOHA™ product line, innovative precursor materials for semiconductor manufacturing.

Air Liquide’s venture capital arm, ALIAD, was created to invest in start-ups developing innovative technologies or business models in Climate Tech, Healthtech, and Industrial Innovation.

Air Liquide inaugurated its first carbon capture unit in Normandy, France, leveraging its Cryocap^TM cryogenic technology.

To ensure a reliable and predictable helium supply for its customers, Air Liquide commissioned the world’s first pure helium storage facility, in Germany. This facility stores helium 1,300 meters underground in a salt reservoir.

Programs like ICO (Integrated Cylinder Operations) and IBO (Integrated Bulk Operations) leveraged digital and AI to optimize the supply chain and reduce its carbon footprint.

Air Liquide announced the construction of Normand’Hy, a 200 MW industrial-scale hydrogen electrolyzer, to contribute to the decarbonization of industry in the Normandy region, France.