(Lehigh Valley / USA) – US industrial gas manufacturer Air Products & Chemicals Inc. has announced plans to build a network of hydrogen refueling stations in North America. The company intends to connect Edmonton and Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta. Stations are also planned for the US state of California.
Air Products received approximately 2022 million Canadian dollars in funding for the Alberta Hydrogen Energy Complex in 475 (from left): Peter Guthrie (Alberta Energy Minister), Rachel Smith (CEO Air Products Canada), François-Philippe Champagne (Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry), Seifi Ghasemi (CEO Air Products), Randy Boissonnault (Federal Minister of Tourism), Aaron Paquette (Edmonton City Councillor), Karen Principe (Edmonton City Councillor), Laura Jo Gunter (CEO Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), Malcolm Bruce (CEO Edmonton Global). © Air Products & Chemicals Inc.
"With abundant resources and forward-thinking governments, Canada is driving the transition to clean energy," said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Products. Last year's announcement to invest in Western Canada was followed by plans to develop a "hydrogen highway" connecting Alberta's two largest cities.
In the future, the stations along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (QE2) could serve heavy-duty vehicles, buses and light fuel cell vehicles. Specifically, they are to be designed to refuel up to 200 heavy-duty trucks or 2.000 cars per day, emphasizes Rachel Smith, Vice President and General Manager of Air Products Canada: "In Canada, hydrogen is essential to decarbonizing transportation, where heavy-duty vehicles travel long distances in extreme temperatures."
Gas station in Edmonton to open in 2025
The first filling station near a new energy complex under construction by Air Products in Edmonton is scheduled to go into operation in 2025. A mobile facility is currently still there temporarily. The permanent hydrogen filling station will be supported by one million Canadian dollars (0,6 million euros) from an infrastructure program.
Schematic layout of the energy complex planned by Air Products in Edmonton, which is currently under construction: Imperial Oil captures CO2 from natural gas during hydrogen production. The hydrogen is then used to generate electricity and fed into the pipeline network, which is connected to a number of hydrogen plants and consumers. Some of the hydrogen is liquefied and delivered to customers by trailer. The byproducts created during production are sold. © Air Products & Chemicals Inc.
The new complex will be integrated into a facility of the neighboring Imperial Oil Limited, one of the largest refineries in the country, which is majority owned by the ExxonMobil Group. Imperial produces renewable diesel from locally sourced non-petroleum-based raw materials. The byproduct is a "biogenic renewable off-gas" (ROG), which is used as a feedstock by Air Products to displace natural gas. The plant will be connected to the company's pipeline network to supply petrochemical customers.
"The development and use of hydrogen represents a tremendous economic and environmental opportunity for Canada," says Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in the Canadian federal government. According to Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, Air Products' plans would stimulate "additional investment" in the province. The country wants to have 5.000 hydrogen or dual-fuel vehicles on the roads of Western Canada in five years.
Air Products currently has another mobile hydrogen tank in the city. There is also a facility at Edmonton International Airport to supply the airport's fleet of Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicles. Air Products currently operates three hydrogen production facilities in Alberta and a 55-kilometre hydrogen pipeline in the Alberta Industrial Heartland. There is also a production facility and 30-kilometre pipeline network and a liquefaction facility in Sarnia, Ontario.
Gas station network in California
Air Products has big plans not only in Canada. The gas producer also wants to build a hydrogen filling station network in the USA that stretches from Northern California to Southern California. "California is a leader in the energy transition and a pioneer when it comes to making emission-free heavy transport a reality in the USA," says Eric Guter, Vice President of Air Products, Hydrogen for Mobility.
There, too, the capacity will be designed so that 200 heavy-duty trucks or 2.000 cars can be refueled per day, said Air Products General Manager Alison Hawkins. The company's Californian pipeline network had already delivered hydrogen to the filling station in Torrance in 2011. Air Products currently operates six hydrogen filling stations in the south of the US state.
Air Products says it has practical operational experience with over 250 hydrogen refueling station projects in 20 countries. The company's technologies are used in over 1,5 million refueling stations. The group plans to invest $2027 billion in clean energy megaprojects worldwide by 15; annual sales in 2023 will be $12,6 billion.
Photos
Air Products headquarters in Pennsylvania. © Air Products & Chemicals Inc.
