Industrial gas producer Air Products, and global energy company AES Corp. announced plans to invest approximately $4 billion to build, own, and operate a green hydrogen production facility in Wilbarger County, Texas.

This mega-scale renewable power to hydrogen project includes approximately 1.4 gigawatts of wind and solar power generation, along with electrolyzer capacity capable of producing over 200 metric tons per day of green hydrogen, which the company say make it the largest green hydrogen facility in the U.S.

The facility, which is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2027, will serve growing demand for zero-carbon-intensity fuels for the mobility market — including trucking — as well as other industrial markets. If all the green hydrogen were used in the heavy-duty truck market, the companies said, it would eliminate about 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually compared to diesel. Over the project lifetime, it is expected to avoid 50 million metric tons of CO2, the equivalent of avoiding emissions from nearly 5 billion gallons of diesel fuel. 

Air Products and AES will jointly and equally own the renewable energy and electrolyzer assets, with Air Products serving as the exclusive off-taker and marketer of the green hydrogen under a 30-year contract.  

"We are very pleased to announce this exciting joint venture with AES, which is one of the leading renewable energy companies in America," said Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products' chairman, president and CEO, "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."

Demand for green hydrogen for mobility and industrial applications is expected to grow exponentially across the U.S. over the next decade. The growth in demand is supported by green hydrogen's role in net-zero ambitions announced by several states and major corporations. 

"AES believes that green hydrogen has a key role to play in decarbonizing transportation and accelerating the future of energy," added Andrés Gluski, AES president and chief executive officer.