AES, Air Products plan $4bn green hydrogen hub in Texas

Air Products and AES Corporation have agreed to invest approximately USD4bn to build, own and operate a green hydrogen production facility in Wilbarger County, Texas, said the company.

The hydrogen project includes approximately 1.4GW of wind and solar power generation, along with electrolyser capacity capable of producing over 200 metric tonnes per day of green hydrogen.

The facility, which is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2027, will serve growing demand for zero-carbon intensity fuels for the mobility market as well as other industrial markets. Air Products and AES will jointly and equally own the renewable energy and electrolyser assets, with Air Products serving as the exclusive off-taker and marketer of the green hydrogen under a 30-year contract.

The project would create more than 1300 construction and 115 permanent operations jobs, as well as about 200 transportation and distribution jobs. It is also expected to generate approximately USD500 million in tax benefits to the state over the course of the project's lifetime, while extending Texas' energy leadership.

"We are very pleased to announce this exciting joint venture with AES, which is one of the leading renewable energy companies in America. “The new facility in Texas will be, by far, the largest mega-scale clean hydrogen production facility in the U.S. to use wind and sun as energy sources.

“We have been working on the development of this project with AES for many years and it will be competitive on a world-scale while bringing significant tax, job and energy security benefits to Texas. “We are excited to move forward and make clean green hydrogen available to US customers in the near future," said Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

We remind, Air Liquide announces that it has signed an agreement to divest its business in Trinidad and Tobago to Massy Gas Products Holding Ltd. As a consequence of this divestiture, the approximately 30 employees of this business will be integrated within MGPHL. This transaction is part of Air Liquide’s strategy to regularly review its asset portfolio and focus on selected fast developing areas and activities.
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As their walkout entered its third week, South Korean truckers realised their bid to widen and make permanent a government scheme on minimum freight rates was failing as public support waned and President Yoon Suk-yeol refused to budge.

Many businesses prepared for the strike, which began Nov. 24, and were ready to weather short-term pain. And as the government increased pressure - including unprecedented "start work" orders - some of the 25,000 striking truckers headed back to work this week, facing the prospect of not only lost income but lost jobs, drivers told Reuters.

On Friday, the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union said that 62% of union members voted to call off the strike to return to work but that the union would continue its minimum wage campaign.

"The game is over. It is so sad that all we could do is stop our cars, but nothing has changed," said Kang Myung-gil, a container truck driver who came back to work on Monday after a two-week walkout.

"The union fell into a trap that the government buried," said Kang, who is not a union driver, referring to the government narrative that the strike is devastating the country's economy. "Then, we, living day by day, just have to accept the reality and move on."

This summer, an eight-day strike by truckers delayed cargo shipments from cars to cement across Asia's fourth-largest economy before it ended with each side claiming it had won concessions.

But this time, the government rejected the union's bid to expand minimum protections to other kinds of cargo, including oil tankers, package delivery trucks and auto carries, saying drivers are already well-paid. The government has said it would only extend the current wage programme for three more years.

We remind, the South Korean government expanded on Thursday its return-to-work order to more cargo truckers who serve the steel and petrochemical industries, amid the mounting economic cost of the truckers’ strike. The expansion of the return-to-work order was decided on Thursday morning during an extraordinary meeting of the country’s executive branch, citing “serious” damage to the economy.

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Azelis has agreed to acquire Chemiplas Agencies, a distributor of specialty chemicals, plastic raw materials and ingredients in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, said the company.

Chemiplas has about 100 employees who serve more than 1,900 companies from headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand and six other offices across Australia and New Zealand.

“This acquisition is another illustration of our strong commitment to continued growth in the Asia Pacific region, and is an important milestone in our strategic vision of becoming a market leader in Australia and New Zealand,” Hans Joachim Muller, CEO of Belgium-based Azelis, said in a statement this week.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of Q1 2023. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

We remind, Azelis has acquired Chemcolour, a leading supplier of specialty chemicals and food ingredients in Australia and New Zealand, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition strengthens Azelis’ presence in the region and positions it among the top distributors in the two countries. Australia and New Zealand are wealthy countries, rich in natural resources with growing populations, said Azelis’ CEO, Hans Joachim Muller, adding that Chemcolour is a great platform to extend agreements with its existing, global principal suppliers.
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Ineos has agreed a fourth joint venture with Sinopec that will see it take a 50% share in the Tianjin Nangang project, which is currently underway and due to go on stream at the end of 2023, said Chemanager-online.

“This latest joint venture with Sinopec significantly expands Ineos’ petrochemical production and business footprint in China. It is a further example of the close relationship and growing collaboration between Sinopec and Ineos,” said Ineos chairman and CEO Jim Ratcliffe.

Ma Yongsheng, chairman of Sinopec added that the decision to enter into another joint venture is driven by the companies’ dual goals of reducing carbon emissions and managing the energy transition within their businesses, from refining all the way through petrochemicals. “Sinopec will give Ineos a significant local presence and Ineos will contribute its technological and operational expertise, which will create a win-win for the cooperative development of both companies,” he said.

The project at Tianjin comprises a 1.2 million t/y ethane cracker and derivative plants. These include units for 300,000 t/y ABS and 500,000 t/y HDPE, which the partners had previously announced in July as two separate joint ventures.

The Terluran ABS plant is the second of three such plants that Ineos has agreed to build and operate in China in partnership with Sinopec. A first plant with capacity of 600,00 t/y is currently under construction in Ningbo and due on stream by end 2023. The location for a third ABS plant has still to be decided.

We remind, INEOS Enterprises has completed the acquisition of ASHTA Chemicals Inc, from Bigshire Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. The deal, consists of a 100ktpa Potassium Hydroxide (KOH)/65 kte Chlorine plant.
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Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, has announced a five-year deal with ExxonMobil to purchase certified-circular polyethylene material in support of its target to achieve 30% recycled material across its portfolio by 2030, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The volume of material will increase incrementally each year and is expected to reach 100,000 metric tpy at the end of the 5-yr period.

Made possible by ExxonMobil’s Exxtend technology for advanced recycling, Amcor intends to leverage this material across its global portfolio, with a particular focus on the healthcare and food industries, which are required to meet stringent safety requirements for recycled plastic. The agreement expands upon Amcor’s initial purchase of certified-circular polyethylene material from ExxonMobil earlier this year.

Amcor is already delivering a variety of solutions containing recycled content to customers around the world, including Mondelez International who has made the switch to 30% food-grade recycled packaging for its Cadbury Dairy Milk, Caramilk and Old Gold family blocks in Australia.

We remind, Amcor plc is tripling the company's recycled content target. The company, in conjunction with the release of a new sustainability report, revealed Nov. 17 the new goal is 30 percent — up from the previous 10 percent — by 2030.
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