Industrial gases firm Air Products said Wednesday that it is planning to invest $500 million to build, own and operate (BOO) a new steam methane reformer (SMR) for hydrogen production and an air separation unit (ASU) for nitrogen in the U.S. to support a new world-scale ammonia production plant in Texas City, TX operated by Gulf Coast Ammonia (GCA). The company also plans to own and operate a steam turbine generator to provide power and certain utilities to the GCA facilities. 

“This is an exciting project that we are very proud to have won. When all facets of this project are combined, it sets a new high for Air Products’ investment – $500 million – for one project in the United States,” said Seifi Ghasemi, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Air Products, in a company press release. “This project will showcase Air Products’ core strengths and capabilities supplying hydrogen from an SMR and nitrogen from an ASU, and leverages our core industrial gas strengths in many ways.”

The new SMR will connect to and extend Air Products’ hydrogen pipeline system in the Gulf Coast. Work on the pipeline is slated to reach completion in the second half of 2021 and the other assets are expected to come online in early 2023. 

“In addition to this being our largest-ever U.S. investment, the project also sets other Air Products’ milestones. It will feature the largest SMR we have ever built and will operate, the largest per-day amount of hydrogen supplied to a single customer under one contract, and it increases the size and supply capacity of Air Products’ extensive hydrogen pipeline system in the Gulf Coast, which is the world’s largest,” Ghasemi said. “This is all successfully combined under a long-term contract for a project located in the United States.”

CGA’s ammonia plant will have a capacity of 3600 mt/day when it becomes operational. Air Products will supply the company with 270 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of hydrogen from the SMR and its Gulf Coast Pipeline system. 

Air Products announced in September 2019 that work has commenced on its new global headquarters in Pennsylvania, Powder & Bulk Solids reported. When the facility is completed in the summer of 2021, it will house some 2000 workers.

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