據氫能源新聞5月25日消息稱，國際工業氣體公司液化空氣公司現在預計，其位于拉斯維加斯北部的內華達州氫燃料工廠將于2021年11月完工。

　　這個新工廠將專門為氫氣運輸燃料市場服務。

　　液化空氣公司主管、氫能倡導者Dave Edwards解釋道：“氫氣生產在很大程度上是圍繞氫的工業用途而建立的：諸如煉油廠、電子產品、農產品，而不是作為能源載體或運輸燃料。內華達州的項目是我們第一個專門針對美國這些新市場的大規模投資。這種氫不是用于傳統的工業市場，而是用于主要在西海岸的交通和運輸燃料市場。”

　　如果內華達州氫燃料工廠的建設如期在11月完成，它將于2022年初開始運營。屆時，該公司將開始生產氫氣，用于輕型和重型運輸部門車輛的燃料。

　　內華達州的氫燃料工廠將以可再生天然氣為動力生產藍色氫氣。

　　Edwards解釋道：“盡管氫氣作為一種燃料比汽油或柴油要好得多，但(它的生產過程)仍然對環境造成了影響，需要加以解決。我們在拉斯維加斯北部的第一筆投資是使用類似的技術，但我們有能力用可再生天然氣取代天然氣，并減少原料的碳足跡。”

　　液化空氣公司打算將垃圾填埋氣、沼氣和廢水處理氣作為工廠的可再生天然氣燃料來源。這樣，雖然氫氣生產不會是零排放的，但它仍然有助于大幅減少碳足跡，目標是能夠在設施的整個生命周期內實現凈負碳足跡。

　　朱佳妮 摘譯自 氫能源新聞

　　原文如下：

　　New Nevada hydrogen fuel plant to begin operations in early 2022

　　International industrial gas company Air Liquide (EPA stock symbol AI) now expects that its new Nevada hydrogen fuel plant in North Las Vegas construction will be completed by November 2021.

　　This new plant will be constructed specifically for serving the H2 transportation fuel market.

　　“[Hydrogen production] is very much built around the industrial use of hydrogen: things like refineries, electronics, agricultural products and not really as an energy vector or transportation fuel,” explained Air Liquide director and advocate for hydrogen energy Dave Edwards. “The project in Nevada is our first large-scale investment specifically for these new markets in the US. This hydrogen is not for the traditional industrial markets, but rather for the mobility and transportation fuel market that is mostly on the west coast.”

　　If the Nevada hydrogen fuel plant’s construction is completed as expected in November, it will be slated to begin operations in early 2022. At that time, it will start H2 production to be used as fuel for both light-duty and heavy-duty transportation sector vehicles.

　　The Nevada hydrogen fuel plant will be powered by renewable natural gas to produce blue H2.

　　“Even though hydrogen as a fuel is considerably better than gasoline or diesel, [its production process] still has an environmental footprint that needs to be addressed,” explained Edwards. “Our first investment in North Las Vegas is to use similar technology, but we have the ability to displace the natural gas in the process with renewable natural gas and reduce the carbon footprint of our feedstock.”

　　Among the renewable natural gas sources that Air Liquide intends to use as its plant’s fuel sources include landfill gas, biogas, and waste-water treatment gas. In this way, while the H2 production won’t be emissions-free, it will still help to considerably reduce the carbon footprint, with the goal of being able to achieve a net negative carbon footprint over the lifetime of the facility.