The liquid hydrogen will be used to fuel NASA’s cryogenic rocket engines and support aeronautics and propulsion research at its centres in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Ohio.

Worth a combined $147m, the contracts cover 16,560 tonnes of liquid hydrogen for Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, Marshall, and Stennis, while Plug Power will supply the remaining 220 tonnes to the Glenn Research Centre and Armstrong Test Facility.

NASA’s liquid hydrogen awards are fixed-price contracts that guarantee set quantities and prices for future deliveries.

For its cryogenic rockets, the liquid hydrogen will be used with liquid oxygen as fuel. Liquid hydrogen’s ultra-cold and lightweight properties also make it important for wider aeronautics R&D.

Hydrogen has been used by NASA since the early 1960s, including on board its Saturn V.

The new contracts follow NASA’s recent filling of the world’s largest liquid hydrogen storage sphere at Kennedy Space Center with Air Products, part of preparations for its Artemis Moon missions.

However, the energy carrier has caused issues in the Artemis missions. In September 2022, hydrogen leaks thwarted two launch attempts of NASA’s Artemis I rocket. It eventually launched in November 2022.

The latest deals with Air Products and Plug underscore hydrogen’s continued central role in NASA’s space exploration strategy, despite the technical challenges it has presented.