Having started life selling zero-emission Hydrogen-powered forklifts, Plug Power Inc. has announced it will now build the biggest green hydrogen plant in Northern America, in New York state, signalling its aggressive move into producing the clean-energy fuel.

The company has announced targeted production of 500 tons per day of green hydrogen by 2025, and 1,000 tons per day by 2028.  The New York facility is just one of several Plug plans across the U.S . Chief Executive Officer Andy Marsh said the company owns the land for a facility in California, and he mentioned Texas as an additional location whilst on Thursday’s company’s quarterly earnings call.

Plug’s NY facility will use the process of electrolysis to extract its hydrogen from water, producing 45 metric tons of liquid hydrogen per day.  The manufacturing process will be greenhouse gas-free as all electricity required will come from hydropower.  Building the plant and an electrical substation in the town of Alabama, near Buffalo, has a projected cost of $290 million.

Plug Power Inc. are making several aggressive acquisition plays in the Hydrogen sector

Plug started business in 1997, supplying forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells – meaning that no emissions were realised into the working environments in which the forklifts operas – a practice now widely adopted by the likes of Amazon and many others.  Instead of combustion a fuel-cell generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction.

Plug Power zero-emission GenDrive-powered fuel cell forklifts are a hydrogen success story.

Plug is on a mission to become a major producer of hydrogen fuel, and has rapidly dived into several sectors within the Hydrogen economy,  buying a business that makes electrolysers as well as a hydrogen supply company.  Recently Plug also announced a joint venture with Renault to build hydrogen-fueled delivery vans.

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