Monday, 29 March 2010 04:37

By Honey Garcia For its new station, Air Products will use its compression, storage and dispensing technology to fuel hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses for public transportation, as well as up to 100 public vehicles. SK Energy, Korea’s largest refiner, has selected Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc. to build the largest hydrogen fueling station in Asia. The station, which will be located in the World Cup Park in Seoul, is Air Product’s sixth hydrogen fueling station in South Korea. The World Cup Park comprises of several smaller parks located beside the World Cup Stadium where the 2002 FIFA World Cup was held. Today, the park is home to several ecofriendly projects like the zero-energy house, which solely operates on solar energy, and other clean energy technologies. For its new station, Air Products will use its compression, storage and dispensing technology to fuel hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses for public transportation, as well as up to 100 public vehicles. The station is scheduled to be operational in July this year. The project will move Seoul one step closer to its goal of generating 10 percent of its energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020, with hydrogen accounting for 30 percent of the switch. In 2009, SK Energy, a subsidiary of SK Group, made news when the South Korean government tapped the company to build the world’s first landfill-fuelled hydrogen station in Nanjido Island, which is located on the outskirts of Seoul. SK Energy (KRX:A096770 ) is capable of refining 1.12 million barrels of petrochemicals per day, making it the fourth largest refiner in Asia. The company has expanded its business area to include renewable energy technologies like hydrogen, biobutanol and thin-film solar cell. Meanwhile, Air Products is at the forefront of hydrogen energy technology development, with more than 50 patents in hydrogen-dispensing technology and 50 years of expertise under its belt. Its technology accounts for 175,000 hydrogen fills per year, which is still expected to increase in the coming years due to increasing demand from people seeking for alternative energy sources to offset the use of fossil fuels. Air Products (NSYE:APD ) has successfully installed more than 110 fueling stations in the United States and in 18 other countries worldwide. The company’s technology has powered various vehicles such as automobiles, locomotives, planes, submarines and even cell towers. “Processing a waste stream to make hydrogen for use as an alternative fuel is a direction Air Products, together with its customers, is pursuing to take advantage of underutilized hydrogen sources,” said Bob Kelly, business development manager for hydrogen energy systems at Air Products. http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/hydrogen/6728