BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Air Products Chairman,
President, and Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi are announcing a $4.5 billion clean energy complex to be built in
Louisiana that will make the state
a leader in the United States
(U.S.) clean energy transition. Air Products is a world-leading
industrial gas company that produces and transports hydrogen and
other essential industrial gases to many customer facilities in
Louisiana, across the U.S. Gulf
Coast and around the world.
Air Products (NYSE: APD) will build, own and operate the
megaproject, which will produce over 750 million standard cubic
feet per day (MMSCFD) of blue hydrogen in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. "Blue" products
are produced utilizing hydrocarbons as a feedstock, with the carbon
dioxide (CO2) in the production process captured for
permanent sequestration. The project will create 170 permanent jobs
with a total annual payroll of $15.9
million and more than 2,000 construction jobs over three
years. It represents Air Products' largest-ever investment in the
U.S.
A portion of the blue hydrogen will be compressed and supplied
to customers by Air Products' extensive U.S. Gulf Coast hydrogen
pipeline network. The network is the largest hydrogen pipeline
system in the world, stretching more than 700-miles from Galveston
Bay in Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, this vast U.S.
Gulf Coast pipeline network can supply customers with more than 1.6
billion cubic feet of hydrogen per day from approximately 25
production facilities, including blue hydrogen from Air Products'
Port Arthur, Texas facility. The
Port Arthur facility has captured
approximately one million tons of CO2 annually since
2013, with the CO2 transported via pipeline and utilized
for enhanced oil recovery operations.
The balance of the blue hydrogen from the new Ascension Parish facility will be used to make
blue ammonia that will be transported around the world and
converted back to blue hydrogen for transportation and other
markets.
The innovative megaproject will also feature the world's largest
instance of CO2 capture for permanent sequestration and
produce only environmentally friendly blue products. The
megaproject is expected to be operational in 2026.
"This is a major industrial investment that will create quality
manufacturing jobs while limiting environmental impacts, a goal
envisioned by my Climate Initiatives Task Force," Gov. Edwards
said. "Carbon capture and
sequestration are important to Louisiana's efforts to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions while maintaining jobs and growing our manufacturing
base. This project is a clear demonstration of our ability to grow
the Louisiana economy while
lowering the carbon footprint of industry."
"Air Products is excited to announce this investment in clean
energy with the Governor of Louisiana," Ghasemi said. "This landmark
megaproject will not only create jobs but make Louisiana and Ascension Parish leaders in the U.S. clean
energy transition. Air Products is fully invested in and committed
to projects that leverage our build-own-operate, technology,
financial, and sustainability capabilities, and this project brings
all of those core strengths together. We are very excited about the
model this project represents in the broader energy transition and
thank the state of Louisiana for
its collaboration on the pore space to safely and permanently
sequester the captured CO2. We look forward to building
on our long partnership with Louisiana and constructing a facility that
will serve as a leading example of clean energy production around
the globe."
Approximately 95 percent of the CO2 generated at the
facility will be captured, compressed and transported safely by
pipeline to multiple inland sequestration sites located along a
pipeline corridor extending up to 35 miles to the east of the new
production facility. Over five million metric tons per year (MTPY)
of CO2 will be permanently sequestered in geologic pore
space secured from the State of
Louisiana approximately one mile beneath the surface. Air
Products has already received approval from the State Mineral and
Energy Board, which is part of the Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources, for the permanent sequestration of the
CO2.
Air Products will provide all of the complex's products ― blue
hydrogen and co-products (liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen and liquid
argon) ― to customers in the U.S. and around the world.
"Ascension Parish is committed
to being a leader in the new clean energy economy and values our
continued relationship with Air Products," Ascension Parish
President Clint Cointment said. "We
appreciate their investment in industrial gas production using
carbon capture and sequestration technology. This project will not
only make a significant investment in our parish but will also add
high-quality employment opportunities for the residents in our
community."
"The development of this large-scale clean hydrogen project
highlights our strategic geographic assets as we position ourselves
to become the clean energy capital of the U.S. Gulf Coast," said
Kate MacArthur, president and CEO of
the Ascension Economic Development Corp. "Investments from
companies like Air Products are essential to reducing carbon
pollution in a major and sustainable way."
"The Capital Region is at the leading edge of the transitional
energy sector, and Air Products' decision to build one of the
world's largest low-carbon hydrogen projects here underscores that
the talent, infrastructure, and business climate is turn-key for
clean energy investments of a global scale," said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge
Area Chamber. "We congratulate our partners in Ascension Parish and look forward to working
together to support Air Products."
This new Louisiana clean energy
megaproject announcement follows Air Products' announcement in
June 2021 of a multi-billion-dollar
net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and its previous
announcement of the green ammonia production facility joint venture
in NEOM, Saudi Arabia powered by
renewable energy for the production and export of carbon-free
hydrogen to global markets.
"We continue to make significant investments as the world leader
in the production and supply of hydrogen," said Ghasemi. "In
addition to our leadership in gray hydrogen, our Canada project and this Louisiana project make us the leader in blue
hydrogen. We also will be the world leader in the production and
supply of green, carbon-free hydrogen when the NEOM Project comes
onstream. The energy transition will occur in stages, and the
megaproject we are announcing today in Louisiana will help the State meet its
ambitious goals while providing new sources of blue products for
customers in the U.S. and around the globe," he added.
For more detailed information about the project:
www.airproducts.com/LAblueH2.
Media Event
The State of
Louisiana and Air Products will host a live media event at
10:00 a.m. CT/11:00 a.m. ET on October
14, 2021. The livestream can be accessed from
www.gov.louisiana.gov or on
www.facebook.com/LouisianaGov.
Air Products Investor Call
Air Products will host an
investor teleconference at 12:00 p.m.
CT/1:00 p.m. ET on
October 14, 2021. The
teleconference will be open to the public and the media in
listen-only mode by telephone and Internet broadcast.
Live teleconference: 323-794-2588
Passcode: 6714576
Internet broadcast/slides: Available on the Event
Details page on Air Products' Investor Relations website.
Telephone replay: 888-203-1112 (domestic) or
719-457-0820 (international)
Passcode: 6714576
Available from 4:00 p.m. CT /
5:00 p.m. ET on October 14, 2021 through 4:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m.
ET on October 21, 2021.
Internet replay: Available on the Event
Details page on Air Products' Investor Relations website.
About Air Products
Air Products
(NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation
for 80 years. Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging
markets, the Company provides essential industrial gases, related
equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of
industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics,
manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the
global leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process
technology and equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds,
owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas
projects, including: gasification projects that sustainably convert
abundant natural resources into syngas for the production of
high-value power, fuels and chemicals; carbon capture projects; and
world-scale carbon-free hydrogen projects supporting global
transportation and the energy transition.
The Company had fiscal 2020 sales of $8.9
billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current
market capitalization of approximately $60
billion. More than 19,000 passionate, talented and committed
employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products'
higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the
environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges
facing customers, communities, and the world. For more
information, visit airproducts.com or follow us
on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This
release contains "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
expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are
not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking
statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions,
expectations and projections that management believes are
reasonable based on currently available information, actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors, including risk factors
described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2020.
Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or
undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs,
or expectations or any change in events, conditions, or
circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are
based.
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SOURCE Air Products