Air Liquide plans $150 million plant with hydrogen vehicle market in mind
Long-term supply deal means company can prepare to provide fuel for a field that’s expected to see growth
The Houston office of Frenchowned industrial gas company Air Liquide is betting on the growing adoption of hydrogenpowered vehicles with plans to build a $150 million liquid hydrogen plant in the western United States.
Air Liquide's announcement follows the signing of a long-term supply agreement with FirstElement Fuel, the top hydrogen fuel retailer in California.
Construction for the liquid hydrogen plant is expected to begin in early 2019. A location for the plant has not been determined, but the company said it has a short list of possible sites in western states that have access to natural gas pipelines, renewable electricity, water, good access to roads and proximity to the growing hydrogen vehicle market.
Once complete, the plant will be able to produce nearly 30 tons of hydrogen per day — an amount that can fuel up to 35,000 vehicles powered by fuel cells.
Energy of the future?
The project is being touted as Air Liquide’s first large-scale investment into the infrastructure needed to support hydrogen-based transportation. The company plans to build the plant with the ability to double production capacity, if needed.
"We are convinced that hydrogen is an essential sustainable energy vector of the future and a cornerstone of the energy transition," Air Liquide USA Executive Vice President Michael Graff said in a statement.
Fuel cells electrochemically combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, water and heat. Unlike traditional batteries, hydrogen fuel cells can continuously generate electricity as long as more fuel is supplied. And because they do not burn their fuel, hydrogen cells are quiet, pollution-free and up to two or three times more efficient than combustion technologies.
California is expected to have 40,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the roads by 2022.
Adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles has been slow. There are only 36 hydrogen fueling stations in the United States and all of them are in California, data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center shows. FirstElement owns 19 of those stations followed by Air Products & Chemicals of Allentown, Pa., with five. The German company Linde owns four, and Air Liquide has one retail outlet in Anaheim.
Promising technology
In addition to new plant and its supply deal, Air Liquide announced that it intends to make an investment into FirstElement Fuel and collaborate with Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda to boost the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Steven Center, a vice president with American Hondo Motor Co., described Air Liquide’s plans as a significant investment into hydrogen.
“Their commitment will broaden the appeal of fuel cell electric vehicles and speed the adoption of this promising zeroemission vehicle technology,” Center said.
Air Liquide established its presence in Houston in 1986 after buying Big Three Industries, which had operated in Greater Houston since the 1920s. Houston became Air Liquide's U.S. headquarters in 1994.