Air Products exits huge Texas green H₂ project

Air Products & Chemicals has pulled out of what it previously described as the largest green hydrogen project in the US—a 1.4 GW water electrolysis plant in northern Texas powered by renewable energy and capable of producing 200 metric tons of hydrogen per day. The $4 billion plant was to be a 50:50 joint venture between the industrial gas firm and the energy company AES, which has not said if the project will still go forward. In an investor call, Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi said the market for green H 2 isn’t mature enough to justify continued investment, though he expects it to grow to $1 trillion by 2050. The firm’s first-mover strategy on clean hydrogen has attracted the ire of activist investor Mantle Ridge, which is waging a stockholder campaign to overhaul Air Products’ board and wants the company to name Ghasemi’s successor.