Bekaert was granted the STEP Seal for the GRAND PIANO project

The project will support the acceleration of renewable hydrogen deployment by enabling the manufacturing of up to 39 GW of PEM and AEM electrolyser capacity over its first ten years of operation. The project is expected to achieve up to 100% relative greenhouse gas (GHG) emission avoidance compared to the reference scenario.

GRAND PIANO innovates in both product and manufacturing processes. It will achieve this through three novel solutions:

1. An automated production line on the GW scale of PEM PTL,
2. Commercial production of AEM PTL and 
3. Commercial production of Alternating Catalyst Layer Structure MEA (ACLS MEA) for PEM. 

Thanks to these combined improvements, the project can achieve notable savings on critical raw materials such as platinum and iridium. Industrial-scale production of components (PTL) and subassemblies (MEA) will reduce costs, encourage more electrolyser installations and facilitate the transition to hydrogen-based solutions. The project is expected to avoid up to 11.7 million tonnes CO2e over its first ten years of operation.

GRAND PIANO will support Europe’s climate neutrality objectives for 2050, the Net-Zero Industry Act’s aim of enhancing European manufacturing capacity and promoting industrial competitiveness, and the goals of the Critical Raw Materials Act to increase resilience and reduce dependencies on certain materials.

Located in Belgium, GRAND PIANO will engage local suppliers and stimulate economic growth and foster job opportunities. By producing cost-competitive electrolysers that are more resilient to supply chain distruptions, our project could also attract new businesses and investments in the region.