Hydrogen from Renewable Electricity in the Hard Metal Industry: CERATIZIT’s Journey
For decades, hydrogen has played an essential role in the production of hard materials. At CERATIZIT, it is a critical process gas used in key manufacturing steps such as tungsten oxide reduction, dewaxing, coating and sintering. While hydrogen is often associated with the energy transition, its role in the hard metal industry is very different. Long before hydrogen from renewable electricity became a topic of discussion, manufacturers relied on hydrogen to create the controlled atmospheres needed to produce high-performance materials.
As the industry works to reduce its environmental impact, a new challenge has emerged: how can manufacturers continue using the hydrogen they need while reducing the emissions associated with producing it?
This question sits at the heart of CERATIZIT’s involvement in LuxHyVal, Luxembourg’s Hydrogen Valley initiative. Beginning in 2027, hydrogen produced using electricity from renewable energy sources will be integrated into several manufacturing processes at GTP Luxembourg and CERATIZIT Luxembourg. The goal is straightforward: maintain the performance, reliability and product quality that customers expect while reducing the carbon footprint associated with hydrogen production and contributing to a resilient future for hard material manufacturing.
Why hydrogen matters in hard material production
Hydrogen is far more than an energy carrier in our industry. It is a vital process gas used throughout the production of tungsten and hard metal products, helping create the precise process conditions required to manufacture advanced materials.
One of its most important roles is in reduction processes, where hydrogen supports the conversion of tungsten oxide into pure tungsten powder. It also plays a key role during heat treatment and sintering, where controlled hydrogen atmospheres help prevent oxidation and ensure the purity needed to achieve specific material properties.
The quality of the final product depends heavily on the consistency and purity of these process conditions. For this reason, hydrogen is not simply one process input among many. It is a fundamental element of the manufacturing chain.
As a result, any change involving hydrogen must be approached carefully. For manufacturers of high-performance hard materials, maintaining process stability, product quality and customer confidence remains the top priority.
The challenge of decarbonising hydrogen
While hydrogen is indispensable in hard material production, the way hydrogen is produced has traditionally been associated with significant carbon emissions.
For decades, industrial hydrogen has commonly been generated using natural gas through a process known as steam reforming. This method has provided manufacturers with a reliable supply of hydrogen, but it also creates carbon dioxide as a by-product. In other words, emissions are generated before the hydrogen even reaches the production line.
This presents a unique challenge for industries that depend on hydrogen. Unlike some emissions sources that can be reduced through efficiency improvements or electrification, hydrogen cannot simply be removed from the manufacturing process. The challenge is not replacing hydrogen itself, but finding a way to produce it more sustainably.
For companies pursuing ambitious climate goals, this means addressing not only how products are manufactured, but also the environmental impact of the materials and process gases used throughout production.
It is this challenge that projects such as LuxHyVal seek to address.
What changes when manufacturing uses hydrogen from renewable electricity?
From a manufacturing perspective, the objective is surprisingly simple: replace conventionally produced hydrogen with hydrogen generated using renewable electricity while maintaining the same process performance.
Hydrogen from renewable electricity is produced through electrolysis, a process that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When that electricity comes from renewable sources, the resulting hydrogen carries a significantly lower carbon footprint than hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.
For manufacturers, however, the most important question is not how the hydrogen is produced. The most important question is whether it can deliver the same performance inside industrial processes.
The answer must be yes.
Hydrogen used in reduction, sintering and coating processes must meet stringent quality requirements. Process stability, material properties and product performance cannot be compromised. Customers expect the same performance from CERATIZIT products regardless of how the process gas was produced.
This is why the transition to hydrogen from renewable electricity is best understood as a change in the source of hydrogen rather than a change in its function, while maintaining the same quality. The hydrogen entering the process continues to perform the same critical role. What changes is the environmental impact associated with producing it.
For companies seeking to reduce emissions without fundamentally changing established manufacturing processes, hydrogen from renewable electricity represents a practical pathway forward. This is the approach being pursued through LuxHyVal in Luxembourg.
Bringing hydrogen from renewable electricity to Luxembourg
Through LuxHyVal, CERATIZIT and GTP Luxembourg are taking the next step in this journey.
LuxHyVal aims to establish a regional hydrogen ecosystem capable of supporting industrial decarbonisation across Luxembourg. As part of this initiative, CERATIZIT will integrate hydrogen from renewable electricity into several core manufacturing processes while contributing to the development of a broader hydrogen infrastructure.
Under the project, a significant share of CERATIZIT’s annual requirements will be supplied from a 5 MW electrolyser in Bascharage, powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Beyond the environmental benefits, LuxHyVal also represents a new model of collaboration between industrial companies, energy providers and technology partners. By working together, the project participants aim to accelerate the development of hydrogen infrastructure that can support long-term industrial decarbonisation.
Supporting CERATIZIT’s Road to Net-Zero
LuxHyVal is an important part of CERATIZIT’s broader decarbonisation strategy. The company has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by fiscal year 2040 and has set science-based emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). As an interim milestone, CERATIZIT aims to reduce its absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 upstream GHG emissions by 54% by 2030 compared with a 2020 base year.
To achieve these goals, CERATIZIT is pursuing a range of initiatives, including the transition to renewable electricity and low-carbon industrial gases, the electrification of natural gas-based equipment, energy-efficiency improvements, increased use of recycled materials, and the adoption of lower-carbon energy sources. Additional measures include investments in energy-efficient buildings, solar installations, advanced heating systems and circular economy solutions that help reduce emissions across the value chain.
LuxHyVal directly supports this strategy by introducing hydrogen produced using renewable electricity into key manufacturing processes in Luxembourg. By replacing conventionally produced hydrogen with a lower-carbon alternative, the project helps reduce emissions while maintaining the process stability and product quality required for hard material production. With an expected reduction of approximately 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, LuxHyVal will make a meaningful contribution to CERATIZIT’s long-term climate ambitions.
The Next Step in Sustainable Manufacturing
The significance of LuxHyVal extends beyond emissions reductions alone. It demonstrates how established industrial processes can be decarbonised using innovative technologies that are already proving themselves in real manufacturing environments.
At the same time, the project contributes to greater industrial resilience. By increasing the use of hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, LuxHyVal helps reduce dependence on fossil fuel-based hydrogen supply and supports a more secure long-term supply of a critical process gas for hard material manufacturing.
Hard material production demands precision, high-quality standards and process stability. LuxHyVal is designed to demonstrate that decarbonisation and industrial performance do not need to be competing priorities.
As LuxHyVal moves toward implementation, CERATIZIT will combine its manufacturing expertise with innovative energy solutions to reduce its environmental footprint and advance its long-term sustainability goals.
The transition to hydrogen from renewable electricity does not change the critical role hydrogen plays in producing high-performance hard materials. Instead, it changes how that hydrogen is produced. Through LuxHyVal, CERATIZIT is taking an important step toward reducing emissions while supporting the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of hard material manufacturing.
Author: Lydia Miller – Communication Manager CERATIZIT Group
Contributors: Nina Jaeger – Project Manager \ Group Sustainability \ CERATIZIT Group; Michael Stegner – Team Lead Procurement; Philippe Strebler – Head of Sustainability CERATIZIT Group