Air Liquide, Official Hydrogen Supporter of Paris 2024
The future belongs to us all.
The climate emergency proves that there’s no such thing as an individual triumph.
We’re all facing an immense challenge: developing a shared, more responsible future.
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Our sport?
Finding solutions for the climate -
Our greatest adversary?
Inaction -
Our daily routine?
Innovation and inclusion, excellence and perseverance -
Our champions?
All those who come together to act
Destination Paris 2024: behind the scenes of Air Liquide
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Air Liquide supports athletes ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
As Official Hydrogen Supporter of Paris 2024, Air Liquide is further strengthening its commitment by providing these athletes with financial support so that they can focus solely on their chosen discipline to have the best chance of qualifying.
Formed to reflect the values of diversity and inclusion promoted by the Group, Air Liquide's team of athletes is now made up of six sportsmen and women - three women and three men - of three different nationalities and representing five Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
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Air Liquide's Place de l'Alma hydrogen station gets a makeover
With just over 100 days to go before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this station is the showcase for the exceptional system set up in Ile-de-France to refuel the 500 Toyota Mirai vehicles in the official Paris 2024 fleet with hydrogen from renewable sources.
For heavy-duty vehicles, hydrogen offers real advantages, in particular rapid recharging times and long range. A full tank takes around five minutes, for a range of up to 650 kilometers.
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An introduction to high-level fencing! Margaux Rifkiss visits Air Liquide’s Kid’s Day
Participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 means living your passion BIG... and sharing it with the smaller ones.
Margaux Rifkiss, saber fencing champion supported by Air Liquide as part of its Performance Pact, demonstrated this once again when she came to Air Liquide’s Kid’s Day on February.
Not only were the children able to discover their parents’ office, but they were also able to learn fencing from a real champion for over two hours. A day they won’t soon forget!
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Shared experiences and values between Yohan Peter and our shareholders
On Wednesday January 31, wheelchair fencing champion Yohan Peter, supported by Air Liquide through the Performance Pact (an initiative of the French Sport Foundation), met the 12 members of the Group's Shareholder Communication Committee (SCC).
An opportunity for them to discover wheelchair fencing, and to discuss the life and preparation of a top-level athlete in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
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Tackling a collective challenge!
Like team sports, organizing the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 also represents a major challenge for all partners.
As such, Air Liquide, Toyota and Paris 2024 are working together to build more responsible mobility thanks to hydrogen of renewable origin.
But how to tackle this collective challenge?
Armelle Levieux, Member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee in charge of Innovation, Electronics and Hydrogen, Frank Marotte, CEO Toyota France and Etienne Thobois, CEO of Paris 2024 give us some answers.
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Driving change for the inclusion of handicap, together!
Supporting each other in the effort, backing each other in the difficulties, sharing victories…
The tandem formed by Thibaut Rigaudeau, a paratriathlete supported by Air Liquide - through its Air Liquide France Industrie subsidiary - as part of the Performance Pact, and Cyril Viennot, his guide, is a powerful demonstration of the strength of a team built over time.
Discover the video with their stories, gathered on the occasion of a conference organized by Air Liquide during the European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities.
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Meeting Laura Tarantola and Thibaut Rigaudeau to get inspired by their incredible sport achievements
Getting ready for Paris 2024 is on the top of agenda not only for the athletes, but also for our hydrogen teams.
In October, Thibaut Rigaudeau and Laura Tarantola, two athletes supported by Air Liquide - through its Air Liquide France subsidiary - as part of the Performance Pact, met with Air Liquide teams to talk about their inspiring career paths and to learn more about how Air Liquide teams are working on a daily basis to supply hydrogen from renewable sources to Paris 2024.
This exchange highlighted the many similarities between the preparation of athletes in sport and the activities of an industrial company like Air Liquide, first and foremost rigor and the quest for excellence.
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500 Toyota Mirai in the official fleet of Paris 2024
Not 50..., not 100..., but 500! The official fleet of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will include 500 hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai! These cars will be fuelled with hydrogen from renewable sources supplied by Air Liquide.
They will contribute to Paris 2024's objective of reducing carbon emissions by half compared to previous editions.
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The triathlon and para triathlon dress rehearsal on the Seine River
Last August, the Pont Alexandre III in Paris hosted the triathlon and para triathlon test events, a dress rehearsal for the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024. During 4 days, the best triathletes and para triathletes were able to test the course that awaits them in 2024, a great opportunity in less than a year before the competition.
Thibaut Rigaudeau, a paratriathlete supported by Air Liquide - via its subsidiary Air Liquide France Industrie - as part of the Pacte de performance, was among them. He took this opportunity to prepare for the French championships and, above all, to the world para triathlon championships in Spain.
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D-365 to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games!
The countdown is on! With one year to go before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, our teams are already on the move to prepare the hydrogen infrastructure needed to fuel the official fleet. The network of hydrogen stations, particularly in the Ile-de-France region, is set to grow between now and 2024.
This collaboration will enable the acceleration of large-scale adoption of hydrogen to decarbonize carbon-intensive transport.
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Air Liquide announces its support to Paris 2024.
On June 26, 2023, Air Liquide became the Official Hydrogen Supporter of Paris 2024 to contribute to the reduction of the event's carbon emissions.
What do we provide? Air Liquide supplies hydrogen from renewable sources to power the hydrogen-powered vehicles in the official Paris 2024 fleet. Discover this announcement and the meeting of François Jackow and Tony Estanguet.
“Air Liquide and Paris 2024 share the same ambition: implementing practical solutions to meet the challenge of climate change. That's what our partnership is all about.
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François Jackow
Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide
Hydrogen, a key to accelerating the energy transition
Given that transport accounts for a quarter1 of global CO2 emissions, the climate emergency requires a range of solutions, including hydrogen.
It offers real advantages, including a great range and minimal charging times, for heavy and intensive transport, like the vehicles in Paris 2024’s official fleet that will be in continuous use.
Air Liquide will supply hydrogen of renewable origin to power some of the vehicles of Paris 2024’s official fleet during the event.
Meet our team of athletes
Ezra Frech
Para athletics
Ezra Frech is an American Paralympic athlete and is on a mission to break the systemic barriers that exist for people with disabilities. Born with congenital limb differences, he competes in the high jump, long jump and sprint events. He recently won the gold medal in the T63 men’s high jump event at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris and holds the world record in this category. He has set himself an ambitious target for the Paralympic Games Paris 2024: winning gold at least in one or two of his events.
His commitment to improving access to sport for people with disabilities has led him to co-found his own association. This organization offers free and year-round access to sporting activities for children, adults and veterans with physical disabilities and visual impairments.
Kgothatso Montjane
Wheelchair tennis
Kgothatso Montjane is a wheelchair tennis player from South Africa. In 2018, she became the first black South African woman to play at Wimbledon. In 2023, she won the doubles title at Roland Garros and the US Open with Yui Kamiji.
Born with a congenital condition affecting both hands and one foot, Kgothatso Montjane has been named South Africa’s Disabled Sportswoman of the Year three times and is currently ranked 11th in the world in wheelchair tennis. She will be taking part in her fourth Paralympic Games in 2024, following the Games in London, Rio and Tokyo.
Kgothatso Montjane was named Disabled Sportswoman of the Year at the Gauteng Sports and Recreation Awards (2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023). She was also named the Disabled Sportswoman of the Year at the G Sports Spar Awards (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020).
Yohan Peter
Wheelchair fencing - Épée
A nurse care coordinator, Yohan discovered wheelchair fencing during an introductory course at a rehabilitation center in April 2016 at the age of 27. After impressive performances on the national circuit in 2016 and 2017, he joined the international circuit in January 2018. Having taken part in the World Cup, he joined the French team in September 2018 for the European Championships, where he won a silver medal in the team event.
In 2019, he took part in his first World Championships, winning the silver medal once again in the team event. He successfully qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, finishing 10th in the individual competition.
Currently ranked 3rd in the world, he won a silver medal at the 2022 European Championships in individual épée; he is now focusing on the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 where he hopes to win the most prestigious medal of all.
Margaux Rifkiss
Fencing - Sabre
Margaux Rifkiss is one of the most talented saber fencers of her generation. 2023 was a record-breaking year for her: she won the gold medal with the French team at the European Championships and the silver medal at the World Championships.
In addition to being a talented athlete, Margaux is also a keen businesswoman. A firm believer in sport’s therapeutic benefits, she founded her own company in 2021 to provide nursing home residents with the opportunity to learn to fence. She also works with young people to introduce them to the joys of fencing.
She has been supported by Air Liquide since 2023 as part of the Performance Pact.
Thibaut Rigaudeau
Para Triathlon
Thibaut Rigaudeau is one of the most promising French para triathletes. In 2021, he took part in his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo with his guide, Cyril Viennot. European vice-champion in 2021 and double World vice-champion in 2022 and in 2023. For the past 3 years, his results have been constantly improving, building a good base for the performance at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
His disability is linked to a genetic disease called retinitis pigmentosa, diagnosed at the age of 8. This pathology is characterized by a non-linear decline in visual acuity and visual field. It is only in 2018 that Thibault discovers para triathlon and receives his first call-up to the French national team the following year.
Since 2023 he has been supported by Air Liquide - via its subsidiary Air Liquide France Industrie and the Mission Handicap of the Group - as part of the Pacte de performance in his preparation for the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
Laura Tarantola
Rowing
Laura Tarantola is one of the best rowers in the world in her category. Fourteen-time French champion in the light weight category, and 2018 world champion in the individual category, she's built to perform.
With her teammate Claire Bové, she is well-known on the World and European podiums in the lightweight double sculls. Together, they became Olympic vice-champions in 2021 in Tokyo. The lightweight rowers have also reached the second place on the European Championship podium in 2019, in Lucerne and in 2022 in Munich.
Air Liquide - via its subsidiary Air Liquide France Industrie - as part of the Pacte de performance has been supporting Laura since 2021.
Find out more
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Air Liquide, Official Supporter in hydrogen of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 to contribute to reducing the Games’ carbon emissionsAir Liquide, Official Supporter in hydrogen of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 to contribute to reducing the Games’ carbon emissions
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In readiness for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Air Liquide hydrogen station located at Place de l’Alma sports a new lookIn readiness for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Air Liquide hydrogen station located at Place de l’Alma sports a new look
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Official Hydrogen Supporter Air Liquide is supporting athletes ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024Official Hydrogen Supporter Air Liquide is supporting athletes ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024
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