Industrial gas supplier Air Products and renewable energy firm AES Corp said on Thursday that they would invest about US$4 billion to build the largest US green hydrogen facility, amid rising demand for the clean fuel.

The companies aim to start commercial operations by 2027 at the Texas facility, which will be capable of producing over 200 metric tonnes of green hydrogen per day. A spokesperson for AES said the investment will be shared equally between the two companies.

Air Products, which had sales of US$12.7 billion in fiscal 2022, will serve as the exclusive acquirer and marketer of the green hydrogen from the plant under a 30-year deal.

AES and Air Products will have equal ownership of the plant’s renewable energy and electrolyzer assets, which help break water into hydrogen and oxygen, they added.

There has been an uptick in demand for green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, which could include offshore wind and solar, to power electrolysis plants.

“We will build more than 1 GW (Gigawatt) of new solar and wind facilities to provide zero carbon energy for electrolysis and related production facilities,” AES chief executive officer Andrés Gluski said.

  - Reuters