Air Products (NYSE: APD) and NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Pipeline & Engineering Co. Ltd. (NSPE) today jointly announced the signing of an agreement signifying the intent of the two companies to work together on Japan’s developing hydrogen fueling infrastructure market. The agreement also discusses the objective of finalizing a long-term marketing and supply relationship agreement between the U.S. and Tokyo, Japan-based companies.
Ed Kiczek, global business director – Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products says: “This agreement is an important step for both Air Products and NSPE in gaining entrance to Japan’s hydrogen fueling market. Japan is being progressive in their intent to develop a hydrogen fueling infrastructure and is one of the early markets where automobile manufacturers have announced plans to deploy vehicles. We are pleased to be working with NSPE and greatly value their engineering and operations expertise, as well as their knowledge of the Japan markets. Combined with our leadership and experience in this field, together we can meet this developing market’s needs with proven technology.”
Kiczek added that Air Products has operated in Japan since 1970, and will work through its established wholly-owned subsidiary, Air Products Japan, on hydrogen fueling opportunities.
“We are convinced that this agreement will be a valuable first step for Japan as it heads toward the realization of a hydrogen society, as well as for Air Products and NSPE. The Japanese government has been planning to install 100 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015, and also 1,000 by 2025 in the country, aiming at the dissemination of FCVs. We are greatly pleased that the combination of NSPE’s technologies and experiences accumulated in the natural gas and LNG sector over many years, and Air Products’ unique advanced hydrogen fueling technology will enable us to significantly contribute to the implementation of those targets,” said Takashi Takeuchi, managing director of NSPE – Marketing and Business Development.
As part of the final agreement to be formalized, Air Products will provide SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling station technology and the fueling protocol license, infrastructure engineering and design, while NSPE will provide engineering, construction, and adapt the technology for the Japanese market. NSPE and Air Products Japan will jointly work with customers in the automotive fueling market.
Air Products’ SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling stations provide hydrogen fueling at 700 bar (10,000 psi) and include Air Products’ patented technology to practice the SAE J2601 fueling protocol. Air Products has available several SmartFuel® fueling station concepts incorporating modular and expandable technology and holds an entire portfolio of global patents, with additional patents pending related to “compressionless hydrogen fueling station” advancements. Details on Air Products’ hydrogen fueling station technologies can be viewed at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.
Air Products, the leading global supplier of hydrogen to refineries to assist in producing cleaner burning transportation fuels, has vast experience in the hydrogen fueling industry. In fact, several sites today for certain hydrogen fueling applications are fueling at rates of over 75,000 refills per year. Use of the company’s fueling technology is increasing and is over 850,000 hydrogen fills per year. The company has been involved in over 160 hydrogen fueling projects in the United States and 20 countries worldwide, including the UK. Cars, trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, planes, cell towers, material handling equipment, and even submarines have been fueled with trend-setting Air Products’ technologies.
Air Products has more than 50 years of hydrogen experience and an extensive patent portfolio in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen and a variety of enabling devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a site via truck or pipeline, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis that is solar and wind driven.
