Global turnkey hydrogen fuel cell solutions company Plug Power Inc. (PLUG:NASDAQ) and midstream oil refining and chemicals firm Phillips 66 (PSX:NYSE), today announced that "the companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of low-carbon hydrogen business opportunities."
The report listed that in addition to its ownership interests in 13 refineries in the U.S. and Europe, Phillips 66 also owns and has made significant investments in hydrogen-related infrastructure and manufacturing of transportation fuels using hydrogen.
Plug Power stated that is a leader in hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers and that it has been involved in the business of manufacturing transportation fuels for over two decades for several of the U.S.'s largest companies. The company advised that "it has begun construction on state-of-the-art green hydrogen production facilities in California, New York, Tennessee and Georgia that will ultimately supply 500 tpd of liquid green hydrogen by 2025."
The agreement was formed for the purpose of incorporating Plug Power's technology and 20-year history and expertise in the hydrogen economy within Phillips 66's extensive energy operations and infrastructure that includes industrial-scale hydrogen production facilities. Plug Power expects to benefit from Phillip 66's strong presence in the fuels marketing segment in the U.S. and Europe.
David Bow, EVP of Electrolyzers Solutions at Plug Power, stated, "We are excited to team up with Phillips 66 to take advantage of its rich history in the energy industry and forward momentum in the energy transition…Phillips 66 stands to help us meet our goal of producing 1,000 tons per day of green hydrogen while deploying cost-efficient solutions within the renewable fuels sector."
The firms highlighted that the primary focus of the collaboration efforts will be based around scaling and promoting green hydrogen to industrial and mobility sectors and expanding development of hydrogen infrastructure and fueling capacity.
As specified in a memorandum of understanding, the companies will join together to pursue three main goals: "integrating and scaling low-carbon hydrogen in the industrial sector; advancing hydrogen fueling opportunities for the mobility sector; and developing hydrogen-related infrastructure to support the build-out of the hydrogen value chain."
Heath DePriest, VP of Phillips 66's Emerging Energy group, which is focused on building lower-carbon business platforms, commented, "We believe hydrogen is an important pathway for hard-to-electrify industries in a lower-carbon energy landscape…Hydrogen is a key component of our diversified Emerging Energy portfolio strategy."
Phillips 66 is a headquartered in Houston, Tex. and is a large, diversified energy company engaged in manufacturing, production and distribution of chemicals and refined oil and gasoline products. The firm employs 14,000 employees worldwide and has a market cap exceeding US$36 billion.
In a separate news release today, Plug Power announced "a strategic partnership with Airbus SE (EADSF:US-OTC Pink) to study the feasibility of bringing green hydrogen to future aircraft and airports worldwide."
The report stated that the two companies' common objectives are to expedite and perpetuated climate-neutral air travel throughout the aviation industry. Plug Power has successfully built out over 165 refueling stations across the U.S. providing power to commercial fleets of hydrogen-powered trucks, forklifts and other e-mobility vehicles. As part of Airbus' goal of bringing zero-emission aircraft to market by 2035, it has determined that green hydrogen demonstrates promising potential for decarbonizing air travel.
Plug Power's CEO Andy Marsh remarked, "We've already revolutionized electric trucks and industrial fleets on the ground, so now we're turning our sights to the skies…And we're thrilled to start this journey with Airbus."
"Not only do we envision a future where aircraft everywhere are powered by green hydrogen, but the airports that serve them as well, including ground support equipment, forklifts and vehicles that shuttle consumers around airports and to gates. In aggregate, this should go a long way toward building a more sustainable future for the global aviation industry," Marsh added.
Glenn Llewellyn, VP of Airbus Zero-Emission Aircraft, commented, "We at Airbus see huge potential for green hydrogen to power our future zero-emission aircraft. This partnership with Plug Power – a true pioneer in developing green hydrogen infrastructure across the U.S. and key points across Europe and Asia – will enable us to leverage their expertise to decarbonize airports while preparing them for the arrival of hydrogen aircraft by 2035."
Under the terms of the collaboration partnership, "Plug Power will build deployment scenarios for green hydrogen infrastructure at airports, while Airbus will provide insight on hydrogen aircraft characteristics." The report indicated that "Plug Power and Airbus will select a U.S. airport to serve as the first "Hydrogen Hub" pilot airport in North America, serving as a case study for hydrogen infrastructure scale-up at other airports."
Plug Power, based in Latham, N.Y., stated that "it is building the hydrogen economy as the leading provider of comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions," and claimed that "it created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology." The firm listed that to-date, it has deployed more than 40,000 fuel cell systems for e-mobility and has built and operated a hydrogen highway across North America and is the largest purchaser of liquid hydrogen in the world.
Airbus is a European consortium formed to manufacture commercial aircraft. The company also is now focused on sustainable aerospace development along with its effort is aerospace and defense.
Plug Power began the day with a market cap on of around $17.1 billion with approximately 574.4 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 9.2%. PLUGX shares opened more than 7% higher today at $31.98 (+$2.20, +7.39%) over yesterday's $29.78 closing price. The stock has traded today between $31.79 and $33.66 per share and is currently trading at $33.59 (+$3.81, +12.79%).
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