Industrial gases company Air Products and power generator AES have announced plans to invest $4bn in a 200t/d green hydrogen plant in Texas.

Air Products and AES will own equal shares in the 1.4GW of wind and solar assets powering the project, as well as the electrolyser. Air Products will also serve as the exclusive offtaker and marketer of the green hydrogen produced at the plant under a 30-year contract.

Progress on the project is subject to receipt of local permits, as well as incentives at the local, state and federal level.

200t/d – Planned green hydrogen production capacity

The two firms aim to begin commercial operations at the plant in 2027, in a bid to supply growing demand for zero-carbon fuels for mobility and industry.

“We have been working on the development of this project with AES for many years and it will be competitive on a world-scale while bringing significant tax, job and energy security benefits to Texas. We are excited to move forward and make clean green hydrogen available to US customers in the near future,” says Seifi Ghasemi, CEO of Air Products.

Bigger in Texas

Although the developers anticipate the project will be the largest green hydrogen plant in the US, it is dwarfed by hydrogen project developer Green Hydrogen International’s 60GW ‘Hydrogen City’ project in the same state. The first 2GW phase of the project is expected to come online in 2026.

Texas could also be home to one of the four regional clean hydrogen hubs set to receive a combined $8bn in funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Hyvelocity Hub—comprised of energy and heavy industry companies and organisations throughout Texas, southwest Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast—announced last month it had applied for funding.

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Author: Polly Martin