12-01-2021

Chart Industries and Matrix Service Company execute commercial Hydrogen MoU

Chart Industries Inc, a leading diversified global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment for the industrial gas and clean energy industries today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Matrix Service Company for the development of standardized hydrogen solutions in North America, including hydrogen liquefaction plants, marine bunkering, fueling stations, plant expansions, storage expansion, spaceship fueling and other hydrogen related facilities. Matrix Service Company is a leading contractor to the energy and industrial markets across North America. Through its subsidiaries, Matrix provides engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction (“EPFC”), as well as maintenance and products to the energy and industrial markets, with specific experience engineering, procuring and constructing cryogenic and pressure storage vessels, terminals and related balance of plant facilities which complements Chart’s extensive hydrogen liquefaction and equipment offering.
 
This MOU builds upon the hydrogen strategy of both companies to continue to expand commercial arrangements, relationships and geographic diversity thereby utilizing Chart’s expansive hydrogen equipment and liquefaction offerings by the producers and end users of hydrogen. Matrix has a 50-plus year history in providing cryogenic storage and terminal expertise to multiple industries. Chart has provided hydrogen-specific equipment to industry for over 50 years, including a very rapid increase in order activity in 2020. Chart’s hydrogen equipment orders for 2020 were over $38 million, with 60% of the orders received in the fourth quarter of 2020 which included a first of a kind order for custom vacuum insulated pipe for multiple liquid hydrogen storage systems.  These hydrogen orders contributed to Chart’s full year 2020 specialty market orders of $283.6 million, a 16.2% increase over specialty market orders in the full year of 2019. With 164 customers working with Chart to serve their hydrogen equipment needs (up from 30 at the beginning of 2020), this collaboration with Matrix will be another way for our customers to achieve their small-scale hydrogen requirements.

Chart and Matrix are working to provide more cost competitive and scalable ways to increase hydrogen as a key part of the clean energy transition, drawing on their respective expertise in the technology and EPFC in cryogenic storage tanks and terminals. This MOU furthers that effort by having a standardized, price competitive offering for the turnkey design, equipment supply, and construction that would have been handled by subcontractors in North America.
 
“The combination of Chart equipment and process with the expertise Matrix brings in process integration, design, fabrication, construction and installation to create a unique and cost-effective solution for the North American hydrogen market, in particular for customers wanting a standardized solution,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s CEO and President. “Matrix also brings access to larger scale commercial opportunities for Chart equipment in North America.”  

“After years of working on LNG and other cryogenic projects with Chart, expanding our relationship to support the evolution and ongoing work we do in hydrogen is a natural next step as energy companies look to Matrix for infrastructure solutions that support their strategic transition to clean energy products and services,” said John R. Hewitt, Matrix CEO and President. “We look forward to continuing to drive customer value and collaborating with Chart to improving the cost competitiveness of hydrogen as a clean energy fuel choice.”
 
When executing under the MOU, Chart and Matrix will provide design, equipment and installation. Chart’s included standard hydrogen offering in the MOU ranges from liquefaction process and equipment to storage vessels to truck loading to vacuum insulated piping, and plant controls while Matrix provides process integration and facility design, as well as all the installation including storage spheres, site civil work, mechanical equipment, piping systems, electrical power, control, substation and distribution.