Expected to be onstream in spring 2023, the station is set to make an additional 1.5 tonnes of fuel cell grade hydrogen available daily, which Air Products says will serve the transport and energy transition market, offering capacity to serve a fleet of 100 buses or 50 trucks.
It is hoped the investment in Llanwern will bring further confidence to end-users of green hydrogen, in pursuit of supporting the UK Government’s hydrogen ambitions.
In a fireside chat at the Hydrogen Americas Summit in Washington DC, US, in October (2022), Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President, and CEO of Air Products said the company is taking the position that there will never be hydrogen demand if there is no supply. “Build it and they will come,” Ghasemi told the summit.
Read more: ‘Build it and they will comes’, Air Products boss at Hydrogen Americas Summit
Commenting on the South Wales plans, Manish Patel, UK Hydrogen for Mobility Director at Air Products, said, “With many countries looking to secure more diverse energy sources, hydrogen presents an opportunity to provide fuels that are lower-carbon and more secure. The production assets and infrastructure required also offer a major source of economic growth.”
Air Products in August (2022) announced its intentions of partnering with Associated British Ports (ABP) in bringing the first large-scale green hydrogen production facility to the UK.
Read more: Air Products and Associated British Ports partner on UK green hydrogen facility
Patel added, “With a hydrogen pathway for Wales under development, it’s an exciting time to be investing in South Wales and we hope that our investment will give real impetus and momentum to the wider green economy in the region.”
Patel will be speaking at H2 View’s Mobility Snap Summit on November 29, focusing on road-based mobility in Europe, with hopes of highlighting areas for the sector to make strides in its development.
Read more: Roads, rivers, and skies – H2 View Mobility Snap Summit preview
H2 View’s Hydrogen Mobility Snap Summit – November 29
With the mobility pillar consistently a hot topic for hydrogen markets and arguably the most anticipated and relatable application of the energy transition, H2 View stages a Mobility Snap Summit this November to summarise the progress made in 2022 and look ahead to what’s still to come.
Infrastructure challenges remain. Questions linger over policy and implementation. Many wonder which strand of the transport sector will blaze the trail in hydrogen power first, and likewise which region. There are clear challenges ahead, yet considerable progress made in 2022 and bright spots ahead in 2023 and beyond.
Join H2 View this November for a half-day online event dedicated to unearthing the progress made, dissecting the challenges to be met and establishing the state-of-play across mobility as 2023 approaches. Find more information here.
Premium Subscribers to H2 View have access to this event as part of their subscription package; non-subscribers can secure access to the event with a delegate ticket ($99). All delegates can access the event on-demand from 1st December.