US industrial gases and chemicals company Air Products has pledged to ramp up its spending on low-carbon hydrogen and other transition technologies with an extra $4bn of new capital over the next five years.

The increased commitment to the transition, outlined to investors this week, takes the company’s total spend to $15bn through 2027, with $11bn already earmarked for clean hydrogen projects.

Air Products claims to be the world’s largest hydrogen producer.

“We continue to see significant opportunities for hydrogen and carbon-capture technologies, and our industry-leading $15bn commitment is further demonstration of sustainability being at the heart of our business and growth,” says CEO Seifi Ghasemi.

“We continue to see significant opportunities for hydrogen and carbon capture technologies” Ghasemi, Air Products

Earlier this month, Air Products signed an agreement with power generator VPI to develop an 800MW blue hydrogen production facility at Immingham in the northeast of the UK.

Air Products, which is aiming for net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050, has identified “tangible transition plans” for new investments and modifications of its existing assets, including low- and zero-carbon hydrogen. It will continually increase its use of renewable energy, converting its fleet of about 2,000 trucks to hydrogen fuel-cell zero-emission vehicles, among other measures, the company says.

Air Products has also set itself a new goal to cut the intensity of its scope three emissions by one-third by 2030 against a baseline year of 2015, which aligns with its existing goals on cutting scope one and two emissions from its own operations.

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Author: Stuart Penson