APD Air Products and Chemicals Inc

Air Products Selected for Three Hydrogen Fueling Station Projects by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products' (NYSE:APD) hydrogen fueling technologies have been selected for three demonstration projects by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) for fueling stations to be placed in Burbank, Riverside and Santa Ana in 2005. Air Products will be collaborating with Proton Energy Systems, Inc. on two of the fueling stations. Each city will operate its station following fueling process and safety training by Air Products. "These are diverse projects that will continue to grow our leadership position in hydrogen fueling in California," said Dan Rabun, California hydrogen fuel business manager for Air Products. "These projects will also demonstrate an expansion of our product portfolio by adding on-site electrolysis-based hydrogen fueling to our existing offering of delivered hydrogen and on-site reformation technology." In Burbank and Riverside, Air Products' Series 200(TM) system, a totally integrated vehicle fueling system, will provide the storage and dispensing of hydrogen to the vehicles. This Air Products proprietary technology is designed to meet early vehicle fleet fueling requirements and provides customers flexibility in using hydrogen generated at the site, or delivered hydrogen, integrated with storage and vehicle dispensing capabilities. Hydrogen will be provided to the fueling system from Proton's HOGEN(R) 200 Electrolyzers. Through Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, electrolysis splits water into its separate molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is collected for vehicle fueling. The advantage of generating hydrogen via this technology is the potential for zero emissions at the generating source, especially when connected to renewable energy sources such as wind power or solar electric. Burbank and Riverside's city-owned electric utilities will power the electrolyzer. "We are pleased to be working with Air Products and the South Coast Air Quality Management District to demonstrate how electrolysis technology can work in real-world vehicle fueling applications," said Robert Friedland, senior vice president, Hydrogen Technology Group at Proton. Proton is a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:DESC). At Santa Ana, Air Products' HF-150 mobile hydrogen fueler has been selected by SCAQMD. The HF-150 will provide hydrogen for vehicle fueling from Air Products' nearby Wilmington, Calif. hydrogen plant. The SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. SCAQMD established an outside panel of experts to award the hydrogen projects from proposals submitted by nine companies. Experts from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Schatz Energy Research Center (Humboldt State), National Fuel Cell Research Center (University of California-Irvine), and the Institute of Transportation Studies (University of California-Davis) comprised the panel. The SCAQMD Board of Directors awarded a total of four projects at its August 6 meeting. To view the full text of this announcement, visit Air Products online Press Room at http://www.airproducts.com/PressRoom/CompanyNews/Archived/2004/04245_17Aug04.htm. DATASOURCE: Air Products CONTACT: Media Inquiries: Art George, +1-610-481-1340, , or Investor Inquiries: Phil Sproger, +1-610-481-7461, , both of Air Products Web site: http://www.airproducts.com/

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