UPPER MACUNGIE, Pa. — Air Products, a gas and chemical company headquartered in the Lehigh Valley, received a visit from Sen. Bob Casey on Tuesday. Casey was there to speak about the Inflation Reduction Act and clean energy initiatives.
Air Products officials took the chance to show off some of the technology the company has been working on, including a hydrogen-powered car that can fully charge in five minutes.
- Sen. Bob Casey visited Air Products on Tuesday, speaking about the Inflation Reduction Act and clean energy initiatives
- Air Products is a multinational corporation worth over $25 billion
- Some of its technology includes hydrogen-powered cars, which can fully charge in five minutes as its staff demonstrated on Friday, instead of the usual hours that regular electric cars take
- Air Products' CEO, Seifi Ghasemi said he has a strong affinity for the Lehigh Valley and added the values of the people here align with those of his company
The company operates in 52 countries, has almost 20,000 employees, and has about $25 billion in total assets. They supply atmospheric industrial gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen — and one of their bigger focuses is hydrogen. In fact, they have supplied hydrogen for every NASA space shuttle mission since Apollo and Mercury.
Air Products' CEO, Seifi Ghasemi, said he has an affinity for the area.
"I mean, we are a global company and could have built a new headquarters anywhere," Ghasemi said. "What I liked about the Lehigh Valley is that this is where the roots of the company are. [The] second thing I really really like is the fundamental culture of Mid-America which is [a] commitment to the family, commitment to the community and work ethic. Those are the fundamental cultural basis of our company."
Ghasemi holds an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Lafayette College and said he lives nearby.
"Besides that, a lot of our people — talented people, and experienced people, are from here," Ghasemi said. "So that is why we decided to build the company headquarters here. We are very happy that we have done that."
"I mean, we are a global company, we could have built a new headquarters anywhere. What I liked about the Lehigh Valley is that this is where the roots of the company are."Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi
Hydrogen-powered car
After delivering some passionate remarks about the Inflation Reduction Act and clean energy, Sen. Casey was ushered to an outdoor charging station on the Air Products campus, where a Toyota car was charging at a station. The car had the words "This is a zero emissions vehicle" displayed on a decal around the front tire.
Bilel Hamzaoui, an engineering manager for Air Products' hydrogen mobility products, gave a demonstration. He showed Sen. Casey how to plug in the vehicle, and explained how it charges in five minutes, compared to the multiple hours that typical electric vehicles sometimes take.
"It's so easy, even I can do it," Casey joked, plugging in the nozzle from the station to the car.
Hamzaoui then held the passenger door open for Casey and took him for a test drive.
Standing nearby, Ghasemi said, "Hopefully they don't go to Scranton," with a laugh, perhaps referring to Casey's hometown.
When they returned about five minutes later, Hamzaoui briefly explained the technology.
"It's a fuel cell car," he said. "So your cell is like a battery — it works like a battery, but never goes down, and never needs recharging. So as soon as it's supplied with hydrogen, it keeps producing electricity. That's what's used to run an electrical motor. So basically, when you fill the car with hydrogen, the fuel cell will convert the hydrogen to electricity, to run an electrical motor."
He added that the end result of this technology is a hushed car that runs smoothly.
When asked why the technology isn't as widespread as better-known electric vehicles like Tesla, Hamzaoui said he wasn't sure. But he speculated that Teslas are maybe more available to the public at this stage.
When asked what else he is working on, Hamzaoui said the company is currently building a station where over 2,000 trucks will be converted to hydrogen-powered vehicles.
"So, we're very busy working on that," Hamzaoui said.
