Air Products Fuels Hydrogen Sphere at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Air Products finished the first liquid hydrogen fill of the world’s largest hydrogen sphere at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, FL, trucking in more than 50 trailers containing over 730,000 gallons. The tank measures 90-feet-tall and 83-feet in diameter.

This liquefied hydrogen will power NASA’s Artemis missions, which intends to transport humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972, or the Apollo era. The mission will also attempt to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. NASA combines liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen to fuel cryogenic rocket engines.

Liquid hydrogen tank at Kennedy Space Center | Image Credit: Air Products

Since 1957, Air Products and NASA have maintained a working relationship, with Air Products supplying liquid hydrogen and other industrial gases for Orion, the Space Shuttle, Apollo, and other U.S. Space Program applications, such as the Mercury missions. The company also works with NASA’s engine testing program at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, Johnson Space Center in Texas, and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

“Air Products has a long history dating back into the 1950s of working with NASA and stretching from well before the successful Apollo 11 moon landing to more recent missions to study Mars,” said Francesco Maione, Air Products’ President, Americas. “This hydrogen fill, which is Air Products’ largest ever for NASA, demonstrates our ability to supply world-scale levels of industrial gases safely and reliably through our supply chain, so NASA can confidently continue its work for future missions to the Moon and beyond.”

In June 2024, TotalEnergies and Air Products entered a 15-year agreement, starting in 2030, for the annual delivery of 70,000 tons of green hydrogen to Europe. Air Products will leverage its global hydrogen supply network to remove approximately 700,000 annual tons of CO₂ from TotalEnergies’ northern European refineries—the deal follows the company’s call for tenders to supply 500,000 tons of green hydrogen per year for the decarbonization project.

LNG Tech Sale to Honeywell

In October 2024, Air Products completed the sale of its LNG process technology and equipment business to Honeywell for $1.81 billion in cash. Initially announced in July 2024, transactional closing conditions have been met and regulatory approvals received. The divestiture of the LNG process technology and equipment business is strategic, allowing Air Products to focus on its two-pillar growth plan: growing its core industrial gases and related equipment businesses and to deliver clean hydrogen at scale.

Following the closed sale, related assets, manufacturing capability, and personnel associated with the LNG process technology and equipment business were successfully transferred to Honeywell. This includes approximately 475 employees and the coil-wound heat exchanger manufacturing facility in Port Manatee, FL.

Air Separation Units

In July 2024, Air Products announced that it will build, own, and operate two new air separation units (ASU) at facilities in Conyers, GA, and Reidsville, NC. These units, scheduled for operation in 2026, will replace older ASUs and provide additional capacity onsite. The projects will advance the operational flexibility of Air Products’ industrial gas business.

Industrial gas products manufactured at Conyers and Reidsville will include liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, and liquid argon to supply the region’s merchant markets. The facilities will serve customer markets such as chemicals, food, metals processing and fabrication, primary materials, and electronics.