Plug Power Inc., a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, today announced that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Atlas Copco Mafi-Trench Company LLC, the turboexpander technology center within the Gas and Process division of Atlas Copco, and Fives, a global leader in brazed heat exchangers and cryogenic cold boxes, to jointly develop hydrogen liquefaction plants (also known as hydrogen liquefiers). Liquifying hydrogen makes it easier to transport, leading to significant cost savings and broader distribution coverage.

 

Today’s collaboration announcement closely follows Plug Power’s acquisition last month of Joule Processing LLC, a process solution and engineered equipment provider with a strong track record of execution among the largest EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) and oil and gas midstream companies. The proven cryogenic process technology that Joule developed for the gas processing industry is directly applicable to hydrogen liquefaction and has the potential to reduce the cost of liquified hydrogen by 25%. This acquisition will also represent a capital expenditure savings of approximately $200 million for Plug Power over the next four years by bringing hydrogen liquefaction capabilities in house. Plug Power purchased Joule for a total consideration of up to $160 million, with $30 million upfront and $130 million of future earn outs based on meeting liquefier efficiency, third-party sales and gross margin targets. Joule’s liquefaction process is being deployed in Plug Power’s green hydrogen plant under development in Texas.“

 

Plug Power manufactures the best electrolyzer solution in the world today,” said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “And, we have the complete delivery network in place. The liquefier system is key to offering hydrogen in liquid form, which is ideal because of its superior energy density versus gaseous hydrogen, lower transportation cost and potential for powering trains, ships and airplanes. Joule’s capabilities complete this end-to-end green hydrogen solution for Plug Power, making us the only company in the world with such comprehensive offerings.”“We are excited to join the Plug Power family as a key addition to the total end-to-end solution for the green hydrogen economy,” said Ben Victor, former CEO of Joule Processing and current Vice President of Hydrogen Energy Solutions for Plug Power. 

 

“We are now positioned with a large platform to deploy our low energy hydrogen liquefaction solution on a global scale, for both our internal projects and sales to third parties.”

 

Through this long-term cooperation, Plug Power, Atlas Copco Gas and Process and Fives will address some of the biggest needs facing the liquid hydrogen production industry, such as improving the efficiency, cost and lead time of hydrogen liquefiers. This new collaboration adds the deep technical and manufacturing experience of Atlas Copco and Fives as key suppliers to enable Plug Power to successfully deliver hydrogen liquefiers into its growing fleet of green hydrogen production plants and also for sale to third parties looking to adopt highly efficient liquid hydrogen systems.

 

The parties have already undertaken significant development efforts and Plug Power expects to commission hydrogen liquefier trains with 15 ton per day and 30 ton per day capacities starting in 2023. As the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen in the world, Plug Power’s growing national network of hydrogen plants will supply 500 tons per day of liquid green hydrogen by 2025 and 1,000 tons per day globally by 2028 - presenting a significant opportunity for the partners to drive scale and standardization in hydrogen liquefiers.“

 

Atlas Copco Gas and Process and Fives bring core expertise that complements Plug Power’s capabilities and vision to be a total end-to-end solution for the green hydrogen economy,” said Sanjay Shrestha, Chief Strategy Officer of Plug Power. “Liquefaction capabilities were the last major element we needed to complete our turnkey product suite for delivering green hydrogen plants globally.”

 

Under the agreement, Plug Power will design, manufacture, install, operate and maintain hydrogen liquefiers for its own use and for third parties. Atlas Copco Gas and Process will design and manufacture custom turboexpanders and compressors related to the hydrogen liquefaction plants. Fives will manufacture the brazed aluminum heat exchangers and optimize their integration in cold boxes.“

 

This collaboration is another step in our pledge at Atlas Copco Gas and Process to support decarbonization and net zero emissions by 2050,” said Robert Radimeczky, President of Atlas Copco Gas and Process. “To be able to supply a comprehensive solution in hydrogen liquefaction supports both our customers in the emerging new energy markets and the goal of climate protection.”

 

“As a technological leader in the cryogenics market for over 60 years, Fives has been at the forefront of hydrogen for decades with over 45 references in this booming market,” said Frédéric Thrum, Deputy General Manager of Fives and President of the Energy Division. “In line with our ambition to decarbonize the industry, we are confident in our ability, together with Plug Power and Atlas Copco, to provide cutting-edge cryogenic equipment for high-performance hydrogen liquefaction plants.”