LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) today announced that its new steam methane reformer (SMR) and cold box in Geismar, Louisiana are onstream and supplying Huntsman's neighboring industrial operations. Air Products built, owns and operates the facility under a long-term agreement, supplying carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen and steam produced from the facility to Huntsman. Air Products' SMR is also connected to its Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline and network system (GCP), which is the world's largest hydrogen plant and pipeline network system.

"Air Products' new Geismar facility was successfully placed onstream and met the customer's desired schedule and product needs. The facility is state-of-the-art and offers high reliability and sustainability, with enhanced energy efficiency and reduced emissions. We have a long-standing relationship with Huntsman, and we are pleased this new world-scale facility and long-term supply agreement expands our support for Huntsman's operations," said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, chief operating officer at Air Products.

Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman's Polyurethanes division said, "We are appreciative of the professionalism and dedication of the Air Products and Huntsman project teams, which enabled the on-time completion of this world scale HyCo facility. The Huntsman Geismar team delivered a significant and complex element of the project, constructing interconnecting facilities and process controls to flow the products and utilities between the sites. The new plant substantially improves HyCo reliability and strengthens the reliability and environmental performance of our upstream MDI-polyurethanes assets at Geismar, which in turn underpins our drive into downstream markets."

The new facility is located on land leased from Huntsman and produces approximately 6.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of CO, 50 MMSCFD of hydrogen, and up to 50,000 pounds per hour of steam. The facility is also capable of being expanded to increase CO supply in the future to support additional demand.

With the additional hydrogen production facility, Air Products continues to expand the capacity and capabilities of its GCP. Air Products' GCP, dedicated in 2012, is an over 600-mile pipeline span that currently stretches from the Houston Ship Channel in Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana.   

"Additions to our GCP like this one in Louisiana continue to enhance the reliable hydrogen supply to all the customers along the pipeline network. Air Products is always seeking to add product supply capacity from more sources of hydrogen for our customers to build on our well-established pipeline system in the Gulf Coast," said Bill Hammarstrom, president – HyCO Americas at Air Products.

In January 2020, Air Products announced another addition to the pipeline is coming with an SMR to be built in Texas City, Texas. When the Texas City facility is added to the GCP system, customers will be reliably served by over 1.7 billion feet of hydrogen per day from 24 connected production facilities.

Pipelines offer a safe, robust and reliable supply of hydrogen to refineries and petrochemical manufacturers around the world. In addition to the Gulf Coast Pipeline, Air Products also has hydrogen pipelines in California in the U.S.; in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada; and in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

About Air Products 
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for nearly 80 years. Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging markets, the Company provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the global leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects, including gasification projects that sustainably convert abundant natural resources into syngas for the production of high-value power, fuels and chemicals.

The Company had fiscal 2019 sales of $8.9 billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $50 billion. More than 17,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

About Huntsman:
Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2019 revenues of approximately $7 billion. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. We operate more than 70 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 9,000 associates within our four distinct business divisions. For more information about Huntsman, please visit the company's website at www.huntsman.com

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2019.

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SOURCE Air Products