LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD), the leader in hydrogen fueling technology,
today officially opened its newest California hydrogen fueling station drawing
its feedstock from a very novel and sustainable source. Air
Products is pumping hydrogen into fuel cell vehicles that is
generated from the municipal wastewater treatment plant at the
Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) in Fountain Valley. In addition to
generating hydrogen, the project also creates electricity and heat
from this renewable source. This technology application is uniquely
the first in the world and opens significant opportunities for
other biogas feedstock streams.
Methane gas is created while the wastewater at the OCSD facility
sits in holding tanks. This methane begins a clean-up process
where the gas stream enters a purification system and then feeds
into a fuel cell, built by FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL),
where it is reformed to hydrogen. In the fuel cell, clean
electricity is produced for use at the OCSD facility and the heat
created could also be directed to several site uses. Excess
hydrogen not converted to electricity leaves the unit and is
further purified to make it vehicle grade for fuel cell automobile
fueling via Air Products' technology. The facility will produce
enough hydrogen for 25 to 50 fuel cell vehicle fuelings per day and
generate 250 kilowatts of electricity daily.
"This location will show how well this technology works and can
be applied to wastewater and other waste applications to generate
hydrogen. It is another first for Air Products in terms of
the varied sources of feed from which hydrogen can be produced,
stored and dispensed by our proprietary fueling technology," said
Ed Heydorn, business development
manager – Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. "Another
plus is that renewable hydrogen is required to be in the mix in
fueling stations in California.
We look to this type of technology as a platform to meet the
renewable requirement and to supply even cleaner hydrogen to the
next generation of fuel cell vehicles." Heydorn also praised
the public-private project collaboration that included the United
States Department of Energy, which provided partial funding, OCSD,
Air Products, FuelCell Energy, National Fuel Cell Research Center
at the University of California, Irvine,
California Air Resources Board and South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
"This is the epitome of sustainability by taking a human waste
and transforming it into electricity which we need, and
transportation fuel that we need, as well as thermal product heat
that could serve the process of transforming the feed waste into
productive products," said Professor Scott
Samuelsen, director – National Fuel Cell Research Center,
University of California, Irvine. "This
project is at the nexus of the challenge for the next millennium
associating how we handle in concert transportation, energy and
water resources."
Ed Torres, director – Operations
and Maintenance for OCSD, views the project as part of the solution
to air quality issues in the region. "It provides an
alternative to us in dealing with air quality in this basin where
we are heavily regulated. The project also ensures us going
into the future that we have a technology that can provide power
and heat and produces a transportation fuel with no emissions and
comes from a renewable source. I think this provides a
promising future for our industry."
Feedstock sources such as agricultural, food, and brewery wastes
and landfill gas can benefit from this technology. If all of these
available streams were converted to hydrogen it could support
fueling up to 200 million fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. with
hydrogen and point to sustainable energy independence.
Air Products was also involved with another fueling station
opening in California three months
ago and has 11 stations operating in the state overall. In
May, Air Products' West Coast hydrogen pipeline system and
industry-leading fueling technology were integral in opening
the United States' first-ever
pipeline-fed hydrogen fueling station. The Torrance station
supplies hydrogen for several automobile manufacturers' fuel cell
vehicles in the Los Angeles area.
Details on Air Products' portfolio of hydrogen fueling station
technologies are provided at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.
Air Products, the leading global supplier of hydrogen to
refineries to assist in the production of cleaner burning
transportation fuels, has unique experience in the hydrogen fueling
industry. These varied fueling applications provide an opportunity
to assess consumer experiences, evaluate product performance and
advance product improvements. In fact, in certain market
applications, fueling rates at several individual sites of over
15,000 refills per year are occurring. The company has placed
over 130 hydrogen fueling stations in the
United States and 19 countries worldwide. Cars,
trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, planes, cell
towers, material handling equipment, and even submarines have been
fueled with trend-setting technologies that involve Air Products'
know-how, equipment and hydrogen. Use of the company's
technology is increasing and is currently over 350,000 hydrogen
fills per year.
Air Products has more than 50 years of hydrogen experience and
is on the forefront of hydrogen energy technology development.
Air Products has an extensive patent portfolio with over 50
patents in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products
provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen, and HCNG (hydrogen/compressed
natural gas) fueling, and has developed a variety of enabling
devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied
pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a
site via truck, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass
conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis that is
solar and wind driven.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy,
technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio
of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance
materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940,
Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets
such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare
services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and
adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative
culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the
environment. In fiscal 2010, Air Products had revenues of
$9 billion, operations in over 40
countries, and 18,300 employees around the globe. For more
information, visit www.airproducts.com.
Editor's Note: Photos and a video about Air
Products' fueling station at the OCSD are available in the News
Center at www.airproducts.com.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2010.
SOURCE Air Products