Air Products to build green hydrogen production facility to support California’s net-zero goal
March 23, 2022
Air Products, headquartered in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, USA, has announced that it will build, own and operate a 10 metric ton per day facility to produce green liquid hydrogen in Casa Grande, Arizona. The zero-carbon liquid hydrogen facility is expected to be on-stream in 2023, and will serve the mobility market in California and other locations requiring zero-carbon hydrogen.
California aims to decarbonise its transportation sector, the largest emissions sector in its economy, through conversion to zero-emission vehicles. It has also set the goal of all drayage trucks (Class 8 heavy-duty trucks) being zero emissions by 2035 and heavy-duty vehicles converting to zero-emissions vehicles by 2045.
Hydrogen fuel cells are gaining momentum as the technology of choice compared to batteries in heavy-duty applications, due to faster refuel times, longer range, and larger payloads, while also performing better in extreme climate conditions explains Air products.
Air Products’ new facility will use two thyssenkrupp nucera electrolysers to produce gaseous hydrogen, which will be converted to liquid hydrogen using the company’s proprietary technology. The site will also include a terminal for distributing product to customer locations throughout California and other markets. The company’s production process eliminates carbon by powering the entire facility with zero-carbon renewable power.
The facility will include advanced compression technology supplied through the Baker Hughes strategic alliance to feed the liquefier. This compression technology is also being used for Air Products’ previously announced world-scale carbon-free hydrogen NEOM project located in Saudi Arabia, and the recently announced net-zero hydrogen production complex in Alberta, Canada.
“We’re excited to bring this new source of green hydrogen to the California market and recognise the vision of decarbonising the transportation sector,” stated Eric Guter, Air Products’ vice president, Hydrogen for Mobility. “California is a global leader in the energy transition and as a global leader in hydrogen and hydrogen for mobility, Air Products is proud to contribute to solving a significant energy and environmental challenge. The Arizona project is another link in the hydrogen supply chain to ensure reliable supply of decarbonised fuel to customers. Air Products is continuing to pursue other opportunities to produce low and zero-carbon hydrogen to help meet the growing demand in world-leading geographies.”
