LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- Today Air Products (NYSE: APD) helps businesses move
consumer goods purchased and used every day by providing the
hydrogen fueling and infrastructure to power nearly 1,000 material
handling fuel cell units operating in warehouses across
the United States. And when
Air Products soon brings on stream its industry leading technology
to fuel the material handling units of a customer with warehouse
locations in Pennsylvania,
New York, Massachusetts and Texas, it will easily eclipse the 1,000 unit
milestone.
"We are the leader in providing hydrogen fueling and the related
infrastructure to the material handling market. Today we are
fueling nearly 1,000 pieces of material handling equipment, and we
are refueling them safely on a daily basis. We are very proud
of this accomplishment and with future installations already under
contract, doubling the number of units is already within sight,"
said Ed Kiczek, global director –
Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. "It goes without
saying that our technology's consistent performance and
reliability, along with the environmental sustainability and
productivity benefits we provide have been recognized by this
market application."
Kiczek added that the early support in demonstration projects
partially funded by the United States Department of Energy was
important to proving the benefits of the technology. Details on Air
Products' hydrogen fueling station technologies and projects are
provided at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.
There are many advantages to using hydrogen-powered forklifts
and material handling equipment. Hydrogen-powered equipment only
needs refueling once or twice daily, depending on use, and does not
require change-out downtime while traditional battery-powered
equipment is taken out of operation for battery replacement or
recharging approximately every four to six hours. Hydrogen-powered
equipment provides consistent power strength during use and does
not experience decreased performance or wear down as battery units
do when nearing change-out or recharge time. Additionally, unlike
battery-powered forklifts, hydrogen-powered fuel cells are not
adversely impacted by temperature when operating in coolers and
freezers. Further, hydrogen-powered equipment is more
environmentally friendly and does not involve lead-acid battery
storage or disposal issues.
Many of the material handling units being fueled by Air Products
include Plug Power's (NASDAQ: PLUG) GenDrive® hydrogen
fuel cell power units. The GenDrive systems can be quickly refueled
in just minutes, completely eliminating the need to change, store,
charge and maintain multiple lead acid batteries for each lift.
"Plug Power has captured the leadership role in manufacturing,
shipping and deploying GenDrive fuel cell units to commercially
viable material handling customer sites," said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. "Plug Power holds
over 85% of this market. And, as referenced by Air Products,
continuing to secure multi-site material handling customers only
further proves the reliability and value-add of the
hydrogen-powered GenDrive product to the customer."
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) provides atmospheric, process and
specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology.
For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more
productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 18,000
employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the
energy, environment and emerging markets. These include
semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification,
natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In
fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of $10.1
billion. For more information, visit
www.airproducts.com.
About Plug Power
The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power
revolutionized the industry with cost-effective power solutions
that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon
footprints. Long-standing relationships with industry leaders
forged the path for our key accounts, including Wegmans, Whole
Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 2,000 GenDrive units
shipped to material handling customers, accumulating over 5 million
hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent
power solutions today. Visit us at www.plugpower.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,
2011.
SOURCE Air Products