Hydrogen has long been called the fuel of the future, seen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels that could power everything from steel mills to ships. But as Air Products & Chemicals’ struggles in Louisiana have shown, turning that vision into reality has not been easy.
Air Products’ Big Bet in Louisiana
In 2021, Seifi Ghasemi, then CEO of Air Products, visited the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to announce what he called the company’s “biggest-ever investment.” The $4.5 billion project would produce hydrogen along the Mississippi River by taking natural gas, splitting it to get hydrogen, and then capturing and storing the carbon dioxide underground. Ghasemi predicted that this plant would make hydrogen the fuel of choice not only for fertilizer plants and oil refineries but also for buses, trucks, trains, and even steel mills and ships.
“If you don’t take the risk, you always lose,” Ghasemi said in a 2017 interview.
However, nearly five years after that big announcement, the project has faced many problems. Its cost has jumped to $8 billion, the opening date has been delayed to 2026, and Air Products is still looking for customers. Ghasemi has been replaced by Eduardo Menezes, who is now trying to cut spending and find ways to save money.
Why the Struggles?
One major reason is the cost of producing low-carbon hydrogen. It is much more expensive than making hydrogen in traditional ways that release carbon dioxide into the air. Another problem is that government support has become less certain. A new tax bill in the House of Representatives would get rid of tax credits for hydrogen production, which Menezes says are key to making these projects work. The same bill also aims to cut funding for wind and solar energy.
“The main challenge right now is finding buyers,” said Martin Tengler, an analyst at BloombergNEF. He estimates that only about 4% of the announced low-carbon hydrogen production capacity had secured funding as of 2024.
Big companies like Airbus and the steel producer ArcelorMittal that once said they would use hydrogen have slowed down or delayed those plans. This has made it even harder for Air Products to find customers.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about the Louisiana project. The carbon dioxide pipeline would run through wetlands full of wildlife, and the hydrogen production site is near a school. Corinne Van Dalen, a lawyer at the nonprofit Earthjustice, said there was a “feeding frenzy” of hydrogen projects in Louisiana, but now many people are worried about the impact on nature and communities.
New Breakthroughs in Hydrogen
Even though Air Products has hit roadblocks, other scientists and companies are making progress with new ways to produce hydrogen more cleanly and cheaply.
1. Aluminum and Seawater Reaction at MIT
Researchers at MIT have come up with a method to produce hydrogen by using recycled aluminum from soda cans mixed with seawater. They found that this process could make hydrogen with only 1.45 kilograms of carbon dioxide released per kilogram of hydrogen produced, compared to 11 kilograms of carbon dioxide for traditional fossil fuel-based methods.
Aly Kombargi, the lead author of the study, said, “We’re in the ballpark of green hydrogen. This work highlights aluminum’s potential as a clean energy source and offers a scalable pathway for low-emission hydrogen deployment in transportation and remote energy systems.”
The MIT team has already used this process to power small vehicles and is working on ways to scale it up to larger applications.
2. Solar Hydrogen with a 40% Boost
At Brookhaven National Laboratory, researchers have discovered a way to increase solar hydrogen production by 40% by raising the temperature of solar-powered electrodes. The study showed that “higher temperatures significantly boosted the activity of the bismuth-vanadate electrode,” which could make solar hydrogen cheaper and more efficient in the future.
3. Hidden Hydrogen Underground
Scientists from Durham University and Oxford University have identified how hydrogen forms naturally underground and becomes trapped in gas fields. Professor Jon Gluyas, who worked on the study, said this clean hydrogen “could help us transition away from fossil fuels and towards a greener future.”
4. India’s Push for Hydrogen Trucks
India is moving ahead with plans to put 1,000 hydrogen-powered trucks and buses on the road by 2030 as part of its National Green Hydrogen Mission. Pilot routes have already been set up in major cities, and the first 50 vehicles are expected to start running by 2025.
India is focusing on using hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen-based internal combustion engines to cut down on fossil fuel use and boost green hydrogen production.
5. Charbone Hydrogen’s Expansion in North America
Charbone Hydrogen is making 99.999% pure hydrogen using electrolysis powered by hydroelectricity in Quebec. The company recently secured $50 million in funding to expand its green hydrogen projects across North America. Charbone is also partnering with ABB to integrate smart technology and improve efficiency at its hydrogen plants.
6. Lancaster, California’s Green Hydrogen Plant
Element Resources is building the biggest green hydrogen plant in North America in Lancaster, California. This $1.85 billion project will use solar power and battery storage to make about 22,000 tons of green hydrogen a year. The project’s leaders say it will help cut emissions by 200,000 tons each year and create jobs in the region.
7. Hydrogen-Powered Trains in California
Sierra Northern Railway has started testing hydrogen-powered locomotives with engines made by Ballard Power Systems. “This initiative not only enhances our operational efficiency but is also a pivotal step in California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kennan H. Beard III, president of Sierra Northern.
8. High-Efficiency Fuel Cells from Navitas and BrightLoop
Navitas Semiconductor and BrightLoop are working together on hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy-duty equipment. These systems are built to be powerful and reliable, making them a promising alternative to diesel engines in farm and industrial equipment.
The Future of Hydrogen: Hopes and Realities
Hydrogen still has huge potential, especially for industries that are hard to decarbonize like steel and shipping. But it’s not an easy path. Menezes, Air Products’ new CEO, admitted that “if it was easy, it would be done a long time ago.”
Even as Air Products faces hurdles in Louisiana, new research and cleaner methods of making hydrogen are showing that the fuel can play a key role in cutting emissions and fighting climate change. The consensus among scientists and industry experts is that hydrogen will be part of the clean energy mix, but it will take breakthroughs in technology, strong government support, and steady demand from customers to make it work.
FAM Editor: Hydrogen is in a race with other storage methods, lithium batteries are the standard for electric vehicles, other chemistries and technologies are competing for utility and other kinds of storage. Just the “idea” of hydrogen will not be enough, the industry must get enough traction to innovate – innovate to provide advantages that other technology cannot meet.
But there is still hope.
