Air Products announces new Arizona green liquid hydrogen plant

The facility will be serving the California mobility market’s net zero goals starting in 2023.

Trexlertown, Pennsylvania-based Air Products has announced that it will be building and operating its own 10 metric ton green liquid hydrogen fuel production facility in Casa Grande, Arizona.

The new plant will have a production capacity of an estimated 10 metric tons per day.

The green liquid hydrogen plant is slated to begin production next year. It will be used for serving the Californian mobility market, in addition to those in other locations that require renewable H2 to meet their net zero carbon emission goals.

The state of California has announced its intentions to completely decarbonize its transportation sector. That is the sector with the highest pollution contribution in its economy. It intends to achieve that goal by transitioning to zero-emission vehicles. It has established a 2035 target for all Class 8 heavy-duty trucks (drayage trucks) to be zero-emission vehicles. Moreover, by 2045, all heavy-duty vehicles in the state will have been converted to zero-emission models.

Green liquid hydrogen fuel is becoming an increasingly popular option in this decarbonization transition.

Fuel cells have drawn considerable attention when compared to battery electric vehicles when it comes to heavy-duty applications. The reason is that H2 technology currently boasts longer range, faster refueling times, and larger payloads. Moreover, it has also shown to provide superior performance in extreme climate conditions, according to a statement from Air Products.

The company’s new plant will produce the renewable H2 using two Thyssenkrupp Nucera electrolyzers. Those will use water to produce the H2 in a gaseous state. From there, the company’s own proprietary technology will be used to liquify it. The green liquid hydrogen facility will use advanced compression technology acquired by way of the strategic alliance Air Products has made with Baker Hughes.

The new Casa Grande site will also include a product distribution terminal to ship the fuel to customer locations in markets across California and other states. The production process used by Air Products will be powered entirely by renewable energy, which means that there won’t be carbon emissions throughout both the production and use of the fuel.