Air Products announced it will invest $350-$400 million to build, own and operate a world-scale steam methane reformer (SMR) in Baytown, Texas. The SMR will produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide to be supplied to customers from Air Products’ Gulf Coast Hydrogen and CO Pipeline Networks. Both product capacities from the new facility are already sold-out ahead of the anticipated plant onstream in 2018.
The SMR and cold box will produce approximately 3,5 million m3/day of hydrogen and a world-scale supply of carbon monoxide.
The new SMR will be built through the global hydrogen alliance between Air Products and Technip for engineering and construction. The alliance is responsible for over 35 hydrogen production plants located in 11 countries around the world and produces well over 55 million m3/day of hydrogen per day for clean fuels production. Technip provides the design and construction expertise for steam reformers while Air Products provides the gas separation technology.
Ffolkes added that the ability for the new plant to connect to the Gulf Coast Pipeline (GCP), the world’s largest hydrogen plant and pipeline network system. Air Products officially dedicated its GCP in 2012. The 600-mile pipeline span stretches from the Houston Ship Channel in Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana, and supplies customers with over 40 million m3/day of hydrogen per day from over 21 hydrogen production facilities.