MURRAY HILL, N.J. and NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Linde North America has joined the U.S. Department of Energy's newly formed H₂USA, a public-private partnership focused on advancing hydrogen fueling infrastructure to support cleaner transportation energy options for U.S. consumers.

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Linde North America, is a member of The Linde Group - one of the world's largest hydrogen energy producers and one of the earliest entrants into the hydrogen energy arena. The mission of H₂USA is to promote the commercial introduction and widespread adoption of fuel cell electrical vehicles (FCEVs) across America through creation of a public-private collaboration to overcome the hurdle of establishing hydrogen infrastructure.

Pat Murphy, president of Linde North America, said "Linde has long been a leader in developing alternative fuel technologies. We believe this DOE-led effort to create a consortium of like-minded public/private entities will accelerate the advancement of both fuel cell vehicles and the infrastructure required to expand their use throughout the U.S. H₂USA's mission is consistent with Linde's global goals for hydrogen fueled vehicles and mirrors Linde efforts to develop efficient hydrogen fueling solutions in the US."

Linde, is a leader in the safe production, storage and distribution of hydrogen. Linde has equipped over 80 hydrogen fueling stations around the world, supplying hydrogen for projects large and small.

Earlier this year, hydrogen fueling stations using Linde fueling technology in the U.S. passed the half-million mark in fills powering a variety of vehicles, including forklifts, cars and buses. One of the major contributors to this milestone is BMW Manufacturing at its plant in Spartanburg , South Carolina , where the company powers its entire hydrogen fuel cell fleet of more than 280 forklift trucks to service the plant's production and logistics functions, making it one of the largest fuel cell forklift sites in the world.

In the San Francisco Bay area, Linde hydrogen stations have been fueling a dozen fuel cell buses for AC Transit since 2010. At AC Transit, the largest hydrogen bus fueling operation in the U.S., Linde is showing that it is possible to fuel fuel-cell cars and buses as fast and conveniently as with gasoline or diesel today.

"We believe Linde is building the expertise to deliver new, economical and sustainable energy solutions that contribute to a greener world and cleaner environment," said Mike Beckman, vice president of Linde's U.S. hydrogen fueling team . "We've been working with a variety of stakeholders, associations like the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, OEMs and government agencies, promoting clean energy solutions. We are truly excited to join H₂USA to help extend these efforts nationally."

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company with approximately 63,000 employees in more than 100 countries. In the 2012 financial year, Linde generated revenue of EUR 15.280 bn (USD 19.9 bn). The strategy of The Group is focused on long-term profitable growth and the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The Linde Group is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development. For more information, visit  www.lindeus.com

Under the" Clean Technology by Linde" label, the company offers a wide range of products and technologies that help to render renewable energy sources financially viable, and significantly slow down the depletion of fossil resources or reduce the level of CO₂ emitted. This ranges from specialty gases for solar module manufacturing, industrial-scale CO₂ separation and application technologies to alternative fuels and energy carriers such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen. For more information, go to http://www.linde.com/cleantechnology.

SOURCE Linde North America