Air Liquide Marks 6th Annual National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day
Mike Graff, Chairman & CEO, American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and Executive Vice President, Air Liquide Group, issued the following statement on National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day:
“Hydrogen is playing a unique and essential role in the transition to a clean energy economy. On this 6th National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, Air Liquide is proud to be a world leader in the development of hydrogen infrastructure and technologies, especially here in the U.S. By increasing investment in the hydrogen economy, the U.S. will benefit from game-changing technology for the transportation, power and industrials sectors, all while assuring continued energy system reliability, affordability and security.
Hydrogen is a clean, domestic energy source that can be produced from many different feedstocks and through many different processes. At Air Liquide, a breadth of sustainable technologies are being used to produce renewable hydrogen, including our advanced separation membrane technology to purify landfill gas to hydrogen and electrolysis.
The installation of the world’s largest PEM electrolyzer to produce carbon-free hydrogen at Air Liquide’s plant in Becancour, Canada, is scheduled to be completed by Q4 2020.
Hydrogen will play a major role in contributing to the development of a low carbon society, and is key to the expansion of zero emissions vehicles, as hydrogen fuel cells can produce clean, quiet and efficient electricity while emitting only water as exhaust. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles offer consumers a sustainable mobility option comparable to traditional internal combustion engines in terms of range and refueling time; in fact, hydrogen FCEVs have a range of 300 miles and can be refueled in three to five minutes. Hydrogen is also a proven energy storage solution, which enables renewable electricity and supports grid resiliency. Excess electricity generation capacity can be used to produce hydrogen that can then be stored for reuse on the grid as electrical energy or redirected to the transportation sector as fuel.
Today, as we consider the possibilities for a future fueled by hydrogen, the U.S. should reconfirm its role as the leader in innovation and the hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen energy development has the potential to strengthen the U.S. economy by creating more than 3 million jobs and $750 billion in revenue by 2050. However, large-scale deployment of hydrogen needs to be supported through policies and incentives that enable market growth and penetration through private investment. The Hydrogen Council, of which Air Liquide is a founding member, recently published its Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness for 40 hydrogen technologies used in 35 applications. The Council’s recommendations include extending and expanding tax credits to support hydrogen production and use (including hydrogen fuel cells, vehicles, and storage), aligning diverse industries with hydrogen opportunities, and increased focus and funding of hydrogen research and deployment.
At Air Liquide, we are already investing in hydrogen across the country. On the East Coast, our flagship Innovation Campus Delaware brings to bear our industrial expertise to support the decarbonization of industries, design hydrogen safety and filling protocols for the mobility market, and develop technologies for power utilization and optimization as well as more efficient fabrication technologies that contribute to the growth of the hydrogen economy. At the same time, the strategic location of our PEM electrolyzer in Becancour, Canada will advance the development of the sustainable mobility market in the Northeast United States and beyond. Additionally, in Nevada, we have made a $200 million investment to build the first global-scale hydrogen production facility and logistics infrastructure dedicated completely to the hydrogen energy mobility market on the West Coast. The project will be a critical enabler of hydrogen fuel cell technology, helping to stimulate economic development in that area.
Today is a day to celebrate the promise of hydrogen and the progress the U.S. has made in advancing it as an important part of our clean energy future. Developing a hydrogen energy market will help to address the challenges of climate change through the advancement of sustainable, next-generation technologies. Air Liquide is committed to partnering with policy makers, customers and industry to develop and deploy this game-changing solution to a clean energy future.”