Plug Power Inc. is collaborating with Airbus SE and Phillips 66 to investigate ways to harness hydrogen to power airplanes, automobiles, and industries while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that warm the globe.
As part of the agreement with Airbus, the companies will investigate how to introduce so-called green hydrogen into air travel, with the world’s largest planemaker providing insight into hydrogen aircraft and Plug Power designing non-polluting hydrogen infrastructure at airports, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday. Airbus has set a target of introducing zero-emission aircraft to the market by the year 2035.
Phillips 66 is also collaborating with Plug Power on the development of low-carbon hydrogen and the implementation of that technology inside the operations of the United States oil refiner. The businesses said in a separate statement on Wednesday that their goals include scaling up low-carbon hydrogen in the industrial sector and boosting hydrogen fuelling for mobility.
Green hydrogen is hydrogen that is created using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind and may be used to power automobiles, ships, and other industrial processes that would otherwise utilize fossil fuels. It is seen as a potentially useful source of energy that might assist the United States and other countries in meeting their carbon-cutting targets and avoiding the worst consequences of climate change.
Plug Power, which uses hydrogen fuel cells to power warehouse forklifts, was the first company to establish a financially viable market for the technology. However, the Latham, New York-based business is now trying to become a major hydrogen generator, and it has created partnerships with the goal of boosting the usage of the gas in a variety of industries, including commercial vehicles and airplanes, in the future.
The firm said on Wednesday that it will invest in the electric aviation startup Airflow and collaborate on the development of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered airplane propulsion system. In addition, it has a joint venture with Renault SA to manufacture fuel-cell vans in the European Union.
