Symrise wins L'Oréal 2026 Energy Award for 'Closing the Hydrogen Loop'
- Won L'Oréal Sustainable Sourcing 2026 Energy Award in the PIONEERING category for the "Closing the Hydrogen Loop" project.
- Captures, purifies and returns hydrogen within Hydrolite® 5 green production and already operates at industrial scale.
- Cuts fresh hydrogen consumption by around 80% and achieves approximately 98% hydrogen recovery ratio.
- Lowers Scope 1 emissions, supports Scope 3 decarbonization across cosmetic value chains, and can be replicated for other gas‑intensive processes.
Award recognition
Symrise received the worldwide L'Oréal Sustainable Sourcing 2026 Energy Award in the PIONEERING category for its "Closing the Hydrogen Loop" initiative, presented as part of L'Oréal's "Spread The Green Vibes" event to highlight scalable projects that advance Scope 3 decarbonization.
Process description
The project captures hydrogen produced during manufacture of the cosmetic ingredient Hydrolite® 5 green, purifies it and returns it to the production process, creating a closed‑loop hydrogen system that reduces demand for fossil‑based fresh hydrogen.
Performance and impact
The method reduces fresh hydrogen consumption by around 80% and achieves an approximate 98% recovery ratio, lowering Scope 1 emissions, improving resource efficiency and enhancing production resilience for customers across the beauty market.
Scale and replication
The technology already runs at industrial scale for biobased pentylene glycol (Hydrolite® 5 green) and is presented as an engineering blueprint with strong replication potential for other gas‑intensive processes in cosmetics and beyond.
Source: Symrise
