Global Markets & Technologies

The Sassenage facility opened in 1962 with the conviction that cryogenics was destined for a bright industrial future.The first applications, for space, were developed rapidly. Over the years, our expertise has developed in a number of new markets.

1962
Air Liquide facility in Sassenage (Isere, France) opens.

1964
Hydrogen zone set up for testing.

1973
Birth of the Ariane program in Brussels, with Air Liquide advanced Technologies involved from square one in the design of the launcher.

1979
1st launch of Ariane 1, with third stage tanks developed and manufactured at the Sassenage facility.

1980
1st Helial liquefier with fully automatic controls completed. A world first.

1987
Protective breathing equipment designed by advanced Technologies adopted by Air France.

1990
OBOGS adopted on the Rafale program, to be fitted on over 200 planes.

2001
Historic contract with CERN : 27 kilometres of cryogenic lines for the LHC ring.

2004
Largest refrigerator in the world set up at CERN.

2007
Two Air Liquide advanced Technologies sites set up in the United States and China.

2008
Air Liquide advanced Technologies set up a site in Japan.

2009
Launch of Planck and Herschel, the innovative technologies of Air Liquide are installed in the very heart of these two scientific satellites.

2010
A 2nd helium production unit in Ras Laffan (Qatar): the largest in the world (up to 38 million m3/year) and the largest liquefier.

2011
200th flight of the Ariane launcher.

2012
Curiosity lands on Mars and delivers its first analyses following the successful operational start-up of its scientific instruments, including Sample Analysis at Mars, a project that Air Liquide has been working on since 2005.

2013
Air Liquide, official supporter of Solar Impulse, the solar-powered aircraft.

Signature for the project to supply the entire liquid helium cryogenic component (ITER LHe Plant) that will be installed on the ITER site in Cadarache, France.

2014
25 years of flying for Air Liquide's oxygen generating system OBOGS.

2015
Air Liquide awarded a new contract for the ITER project, strengthening its leadership in extreme cryogenics.

2016
Solar Impulse completed the first ever round-the-world solar flight.