Air Products' Hydrogen Fueling and Biogas Membrane Technologies Play Important Role in First Biomass-Based Hydrogen Demonstration Project in Japan

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Jan. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE:APD) is part of a consortium that took part today in the inaugural ceremony of the Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm, a hydrogen production supply facility derived from livestock biomass waste located in Hokkaido, Japan. Air Products provided its hydrogen fueling technology for this project as part of the company's collaboration with NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Pipeline & Engineering Co. Ltd. to develop the retail automotive hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Japan. In addition, Air Products has provided its proprietary membrane technology for the biogas purification process.

"We are honored to not only provide our SmartFuel^® hydrogen fueling technology, but also our PRISM^® membrane technology, to support this integrated and renewable hydrogen supply chain capability," said Ed Kiczek, global business director‒Hydrogen Energy Systems, at Air Products. "This innovative project represents the second hydrogen fueling station that we have successfully constructed and delivered with NSPE in the Japanese market, and we look forward to collaborating with them on many more."

The Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm utilizes agricultural wastes which are anaerobically digested to create a supply of raw biogas. This biogas is upgraded to a purified supply of biomethane using Air Products' PRISM^® PB Membrane separators. The biomethane is then used as a feedstock to manufacture renewable hydrogen on-site, which generates heat, power and vehicle fuel. This is the first facility in Japan to use agricultural wastes as the source to manufacture hydrogen.

The Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm is a five-year business project entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment in Japan for low-carbon hydrogen technology. The project demonstrates an integrated hydrogen energy-based supply chain, leveraging local renewable energy sources for hydrogen generation, storage, transportation and use. The hydrogen is returned to local livestock farmers and neighboring facilities as a source of renewable energy and fuel. Hokkaido's first hydrogen-vehicle fueling station is installed at the Farm, which delivers fuel to hydrogen-powered vehicles and forklifts.

Additional companies contributing to the project are Air Water Inc. and Kajima Corporation.

Air Products' SmartFuel^® hydrogen fueling stations provide hydrogen fueling at 35 Mpa (5,000 psi) and 70 Mpa (10,000 psi) in compliance with JPEC (Japan Petroleum Energy Center) S0003. Use of the company's fueling technology is increasing and is already used in approximately 1,500,000 hydrogen fills per year. Air Products has been involved in over 200 hydrogen fueling projects in the United States and 20 countries worldwide. More information about the company's hydrogen fueling station technologies can be viewed at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.

Air Products has more than 60 years of hydrogen experience and an extensive patent portfolio in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen and 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 or pipeline, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis driven by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2016 sales of $7.5 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Approximately 16,000 employees are making Air Products the world's safest and best performing industrial gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. 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, 2016.

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