Yahoo Finance Air Products (APD) Gets Funds for Hydrogen Refueling Stations
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD has received funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to construct two high-capacity, publicly accessible, low-carbon Hydrogen Refueling Stations (HRS) in Duisburg and Meckenheim.
This is another milestone in the company's efforts to develop a European network of hydrogen refueling stations that will deliver low-carbon energy to heavy-duty and long-range cars in zero-emission fleets.
The two new stations will be built near Air Products' current German headquarters in Hattingen, where the company has been in operation for more than 60 years. With the funds, Air Products will construct, own and manage two high-capacity HRSs capable of fueling a variety of vehicles, including medium and heavy-duty trucks. The refueling stations, which will be powered by the company's own hydrogen, will provide a network of dependable and rapid HRSs for trucks across Germany, ultimately supporting the transition to zero-emission fleets.
This NRW investment in Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure is a significant step forward in the company's continued efforts to assist its customers in lowering global carbon emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future. Air Products, the world's leading hydrogen provider, has hands-on operational expertise with more than 250 hydrogen fueling station projects in 20 countries, and its technology is used in over 1.5 million fuelling operations each year.
The company has already announced plans to establish large-scale, renewable hydrogen production facilities in Europe and is committed to expanding its European HRS network. In Germany, these two new fueling stations will complement the already announced HRS in Hurth-Knapsack.
The funding for the stations was made available as part of NRW's hydrogen strategy. NRW has lofty plans for decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation, with a target of 11,000 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in the region by 2030. NRW has also set further goals for 2030, including 3,800 fuel cell buses for public transportation and 200 hydrogen fuelling stations.
Shares of APD have lost 19.2% over the past year compared with a 9.8% decline of its industry.
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Air Products, on its fiscal first-quarter call, said that it now expects fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS of $12.20-$12.50 (down from $12.80-$13.10 expected earlier), indicating 6-9% growth from the prior year’s adjusted EPS. For the second quarter of fiscal 2024, the company expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.60-$2.75.
Air Products expects capital expenditures in the range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion for fiscal 2024.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Air Products currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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