First hydrogen plant to rise in PH
Paris-based Air Liquide SA, through its Philippine unit, is investing 30 million euros or about P1.73 billion in a hydrogen manufacturing plant that has been contracted to supply gas to Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.’s oil refinery in Batangas.
The hydrogen plant, which Air Liquide Philippines will own and operate, will be built within Shell’s Tabangao refinery complex.
The planned facility will be fitted with a carbon dioxide recovery unit that mitigates direct carbon emission levels by capturing and liquefying the greenhouse gas for other uses.
Francois Abrial, member of the Air Liquide Group’s executive committee that supervises their businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, said in a statement the gas supply contract reflected their long-term partnership with Shell.
“We are confident in our ability to create value for our key customers in the Philippines and deliver superior performance that considers both business interests and environmental sustainability,” Arial said.
On Aug. 29, Air Liquide and Shell held a groundbreaking ceremony for the hydrogen facility that was expected to be completed by the end of 2020. It will be the first such facility in the Philippines.
According to Shell, the production of hydrogen in Tabangao will enable the refinery to process more crude oil varieties, especially lower-grade crude. This, in turn, will help Shell ramp up its output of diesel fuel.
Earlier this year, Pilipinas Shell president and chief executive Cesar Romero said the oil giant had started a P2-billion project related to hydrogen manufacturing.
Romero said this meant that the Philippines would be host to one of a few hydrogen units that catered to Shell worldwide—five of which were located in Germany.
Expected to start commercial operations in the first quarter of 2021, the hydrogen maker in Tabangao would be a standalone facility and would source its feedstock or raw material from within the refinery complex. —RONNEL W. DOMINGO
