Air Liquide had a special gift for the U.S. on the little-known National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day this month: The French industrial giant announced plans to make renewably produced liquid hydrogen at an upcoming plant near Las Vegas.
The company said its facility will have a production capacity of 30 tons of liquid hydrogen a day. Most of this would be destined for California, where there are plans for 200 hydrogen filling stations by 2025, Air Liquide said.
The announcement adds to the sense of a trend in the emerging sector.
“Green hydrogen seems like it’s at some sort of possible inflection,” said Ben Gallagher, an expert on carbon and emerging technology at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. “There’s definitely something in the air.”