Air Liquide opened its largest liquid H2 production and logistics infrastructure facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The facility aims to supply the growing needs for H2 mobility but will also allow to provide H2 to a wide array of industries while the mobility market continues to mature.
The facility, and the associated logistics infrastructure, marks a $250 MM investment by Air Liquide in the U.S. H2 market and will position Nevada as a leader in H2 energy production. Air Liquide’s investment created jobs for 700 contractors and 25 full-time jobs with the plant at full capacity. With this facility, Air Liquide also developed the infrastructure necessary to attract other companies to move into the area, creating additional jobs and new revenue for the city of North Las Vegas and the state of Nevada.
The North Las Vegas facility will produce 30 tpd of liquid H2, which will be utilized by various customers, notably by those in the growing clean mobility market on the West Coast, especially California. The facility will be powered by fully renewable electricity. The facility can also use renewable natural gas to meet the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard when supplying the California mobility market. In this context, the facility can provide enough renewable H2 for over 40,000 fuel cell vehicles in California. This will significantly improve the H2 supply for mobility, a critical enabler for market growth. While the clean mobility market continues to mature, the plant configuration will also allow for the sale of H2 to a wide array of sectors with a range of renewable and low-carbon options for customers.
Air Liquide executives and employees were joined by local, state and federal leaders for the event including Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-4), North Las Vegas Mayor John J. Lee, with a special recorded welcome message from U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who visited the facility earlier in the month.
In alignment with Air Liquide’s Sustainability Objectives, the North Las Vegas liquid H2 production facility aims to accelerate H2 development and contribute to the Group’s goal of at least tripling H2 sales to reach 6 B euros, or nearly $6.5 B, by 2035.
Michael Graff, Chairman & CEO of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and Executive Vice President, Air Liquide Group said, “Air Liquide has supported the clean mobility market on the west coast since its infancy and the North Las Vegas facility is a milestone in our decades-long leadership of the U.S. H2 market. This facility is an illustration of our commitment, and ability, to usher sustainable markets into the future, while creating jobs and fostering economic growth in the present. By providing a reliable supply of H2 to California’s mobility market and the region’s industrial customers, we are making a significant investment in the transition towards a more sustainable future, one with H2 at its core.”
