08-08-2013

Air Liquide joins H2USA

Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP announced today that it has joined H2USA, a public-private partnership launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) focusing on advancing hydrogen infrastructure to support the development of new transportation options for U.S. consumers.

Air Liquide is a leading global supplier of hydrogen for a range of applications and industries. Air Liquide owns and operates 200 hydrogen production sites and approximately 1,242 miles of hydrogen pipeline, the world’s largest hydrogen distribution network. As a member of H2USA, Air Liquide will contribute its knowledge and expertise in the field of hydrogen energy, including hydrogen production, distribution and storage technologies and hydrogen refueling infrastructure development.

Mark Lostak, president of Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP., commented: “Air Liquide is already playing a leadership role in public-private research and innovation initiatives geared to advance the commercial deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells for clean transport applications, and we are proud to build on these activities as a member of H2USA. Air Liquide and H2USA share a commitment to developing innovative, affordable and environmentally sustainable solutions to enable the widespread adoption of hydrogen energy in the United States.”

Hydrogen energy is a key growth market for Air Liquide, and a key focus area for its sustainable development and innovation programs.

In North America, Air Liquide has significantly expanded its hydrogen energy offer in recent years alongside rising demand for alternative energies. Air Liquide supplies a growing number of customers in the materials handling industry with bulk hydrogen and fueling infrastructure to support fleets of forklifts and pallet jacks powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and supports a number of hydrogen fuel cell buses in North America. Since 2010, Air Liquide has operated the largest fleet of hydrogen-powered buses in the world in Whistler, Canada.

In June 2013, Air Liquide was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to build a hydrogen fueling station in Anaheim, Calif. The award was granted by the CEC through its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program as part of the state’s initiative to expand the fueling infrastructure for consumer hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The station in Anaheim, slated to open to the public in the fourth quarter of 2014, will be Air Liquide’s first owned and operated hydrogen fueling station for consumer vehicles in the U.S.