Air Products has deferred its final investment decision on a planned $4 billion green hydrogen production facility in Texas, awaiting final rules under the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Air Products has delayed its decision on investing $4 billion in a green hydrogen production facility in Wilbarger County, Texas, pending the finalization of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) implementation rules.
- CEO Seifi Ghasemi highlights the completion of significant engineering work on the project but underscores the necessity of clear regulatory guidance before proceeding with the final investment decision.
Air Products has announced a hold on its $4 billion investment in what would be the largest green hydrogen facility in the United States, located in North Texas. This decision comes as the company awaits the finalized rules of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), pertinent to the project’s regulatory framework. “But we are not going to make a commitment on FID on that project until the rules for the implementation of IRA are finalized. There is a significant impact,” explained Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products CEO, Chairman, and President.
During the latest earnings call, Ghasemi elaborated on the situation, stating, “As you know, there is a significant amount of controversy about how those rules should be interpreted. Currently, the way the rules have been stated, they are fine with us. And if that was the final [version] … we would commit to FID. But the [details] are not finalised yet and we expect those [details] to be finalized by June or July.”
The ambitious project aims to integrate approximately 1.4GW of wind and solar power to support the production of over 200 tons of green hydrogen daily. Air Products, in collaboration with AES, plans to co-own and operate the renewable energy and electrolyser assets essential for this production. Under a 30-year contract, Air Products will serve as the sole off-taker and distributor of the green hydrogen generated at the facility.
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