Industrial gases company Air Products announced a significant increase in its planned capital expenditure plans for clean energy projects, boosting its 2018-2027 energy transition investment goal by $4 billion to a new $15 billion target.

The company also revealed a series of new climate commitments, including a 2030 goal to reduce Scope 3 emissions intensity by a third, and a pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions from operations by 2050. Planned actions outlined by the company to help reach net zero include increasing the use of renewable energy, and converting its fleet of 2,000 trucks to hydrogen fuel cell zero-emission vehicles.

Since 2018, Air Products has committed over $11 billion to a series of large-scale energy transition-focused projects, including partnering on the $5 billion green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, a multi-billion dollar net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, a $4.5 billion blue hydrogen complex in Louisiana, and a $2 billion sustainable aviation fuel project with World Energy.

With today’s announcement, Air Products said that it will spend or commit at least another $4 billion through 2027 in new capital to future clean energy projects. Outlining the impact of its clean energy capex, Air Products stated that if the hydrogen projects in execution were to be used for the heavy truck market, more than 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions would be avoided per year, and more than 500 million tonnes over the lifetime of the projects.

Air Products’ new Scope 3 goal adds emissions outside of the company’s direct control to its “Third by ‘30” commitment, initially set in 2020, to cut emissions intensity by one-third by 2030, on a 2015 baseline. While the initial commitment encompassed Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the program will now include the company’s upstream fuel and energy related activities, use of sold products, and investments.

In addition to the new goals, Air Products also stated that it will work with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), one of the key organizations focused on aligning corporate environmental sustainability action with the global goals of addressing and limiting climate change, on the development of a sectoral framework and methodology for chemical sector climate action.

Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products Chairman, President and CEO, said;

“Air Products is uniquely positioned to bring together its portfolio of technologies and legacy of experience to ensure the future climate benefits generated by our first-mover projects come online at a crucial moment in the energy transition. We continue to see significant opportunities for hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, and our industry-leading $15 billion capital commitment is further demonstration of sustainability being at the heart of our business and growth.”

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