Air Products and AES Corporation have agreed to invest approximately $4bn to build, own and operate a green hydrogen production facility in Wilbarger County, Texas.
The hydrogen project includes approximately 1.4GW of wind and solar power generation, along with electrolyser capacity capable of producing over 200 metric tonnes per day of green hydrogen.
The facility, which is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2027, will serve growing demand for zero-carbon intensity fuels for the mobility market as well as other industrial markets.
Air Products and AES will jointly and equally own the renewable energy and electrolyser assets, with Air Products serving as the exclusive off-taker and marketer of the green hydrogen under a 30-year contract.
The project would create more than 1300 construction and 115 permanent operations jobs, as well as about 200 transportation and distribution jobs.
It is also expected to generate approximately $500 million in tax benefits to the state over the course of the project’s lifetime, while extending Texas’ energy leadership.
“We are very pleased to announce this exciting joint venture with AES, which is one of the leading renewable energy companies in America.
“The new facility in Texas will be, by far, the largest mega-scale clean hydrogen production facility in the U.S. to use wind and sun as energy sources.
“We have been working on the development of this project with AES for many years and it will be competitive on a world-scale while bringing significant tax, job and energy security benefits to Texas.
“We are excited to move forward and make clean green hydrogen available to US customers in the near future,” said Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.