Air Products' Hydrogen Station Dedicated and Fueling Flint MTA Fuel Cell Bus

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May 21, 2012, 03:00 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Air Products (NYSE: APD) hydrogen fueling station in Flint, Michigan was officially dedicated and is filling the Flint Mass Transportation Authority's (MTA) hydrogen fuel cell powered bus now in service for riders, as the Flint MTA officially opened its alternative fuel facility today. Air Products, the leader in hydrogen fueling technology, constructed and completed the fueling station and infrastructure as part of MTA's alternative fuels test program.

"We have had successful involvement and taken a leadership position in hydrogen fueling for mass transit. We congratulate Flint's MTA for seeking this zero emission form of transportation and participating in the increasing trend in the evolution of mass transit that we see nationally," said Bob Kelly, business development manager for Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. Kelly also noted this Flint hydrogen fueling station is not the company's first in the state as it has, and continues, to provide hydrogen fueling and infrastructure for several of the automobile companies in Michigan.

At the site, Air Products is supplying its hydrogen compression, storage and dispensing technology to fuel the bus with hydrogen produced from a PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyzer provided by Proton OnSite. Details on Air Products' portfolio of hydrogen fueling station technologies are provided at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.

Air Products has a proven global record of providing reliable fueling systems in working with the mass transit industry. Some of this work includes: a mobile hydrogen fueling system for fuel cell powered buses on the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District bus system in the San Francisco Bay Area in California (2011, 2010); commissioning a fueling station in London to fuel a fleet of five hydrogen buses as part of the Transport for London Project (2010), and the same station will fuel the first fleet of London hydrogen taxis planned for 2012; and fueling a fleet of more than 50 hydrogen fuel cell shuttle-bus vehicles that transported athletes and government officials at the Asian Games and Asian Para Games in Guangzhou City, China (2010). The China project was similar to Air Products filling hydrogen buses at a fueling station in the Beijing Hydrogen Park during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which marked the first demonstration project for new-energy vehicles in China.

Air Products, the leading global supplier of hydrogen to refineries to assist in the production of cleaner burning transportation fuels, has unique experience in the hydrogen fueling industry. These varied fueling applications provide an opportunity to assess consumer experiences, evaluate product performance and advance product improvements. In fact, in certain market applications, fueling rates at several individual sites of over 15,000 refills per year are occurring. The company has placed over 150 hydrogen fueling stations in the United States and 19 countries worldwide. Cars, trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, planes, cell towers, material handling equipment, and even submarines have been fueled with trend-setting technologies that involve Air Products' know-how, equipment and hydrogen. Use of the company's technology is increasing and is currently over 350,000 hydrogen fills per year.

Air Products has more than 50 years of hydrogen experience and is on the forefront of hydrogen energy technology development. Air Products has an extensive patent portfolio with over 50 patents in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen, and HCNG (hydrogen/compressed natural gas) fueling, and has developed a variety of enabling devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a site via truck, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis that is solar and wind driven.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) provides atmospheric, process and specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology. For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 18,000 employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the energy, environment and emerging markets. These include semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of approximately $10 billion. For more information, visit www.airproducts.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, 2011.

SOURCE Air Products