Air Products and City of Santa Monica, Calif. Open New Hydrogen Fueling Station; Facility Marks Fifth Air Products Station for AQMD Five-City Program


LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., June 15 // -- Air Products (NYSE:APD) today joined the City of Santa Monica, Calif. and South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) in celebrating the official opening of a new hydrogen fueling station located at the Santa Monica City Yards. The Santa Monica station dedication also marked Air Products' successful start-up of five fueling stations over the past six months which are part of a five-city AQMD hydrogen fueling alternative energy demonstration program. The five cities program is aimed at stimulating demand for hydrogen fueling, accelerating the expansion of the region's hydrogen fueling network, and educating the public on hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

"The five-city demonstration program will increase the public's awareness about the capabilities of hydrogen as a safe fuel for transportation use. Air Products is pleased to have provided the five fueling stations for this program and congratulates the City of Santa Monica for its role in promoting alternative energy," said Dan Rabun, California hydrogen fuel business manager for Air Products. Rabun added that the AQMD program provides great exposure opportunities for hydrogen and showcases the multiple hydrogen fueling technology options the company has to offer with both permanent and mobile hydrogen fueling stations.

At Santa Monica, Air Products' Series 200(TM) system, a totally integrated vehicle fueling system, is providing the storage and dispensing of hydrogen to hydrogen-powered vehicles with internal combustion engines modified to use gaseous hydrogen. This model station provides customers flexibility in using hydrogen generated at the site, or delivered hydrogen, integrated with storage and dispensing capabilities. On-site hydrogen at Santa Monica is provided to the fueling system from a production model HOGEN(R) 6M Electrolyzer manufactured by Proton Energy Systems. Proton, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp., is a key supplier to Air Products, and the companies have a supplier arrangement for electrolyzer based fueling stations.

For the AQMD five-city program, Air Products' Series 200 systems are in operation at Santa Monica, Riverside and Burbank. Air Products' HF-150 mobile hydrogen fueler is fueling vehicles at Santa Ana and Ontario. In all, the five stations will provide hydrogen to a fleet of 30 hydrogen powered internal combustion vehicles. The hydrogen-fueled internal combustion vehicles, which meet the state's current strict emissions requirements, are considered a near- term bridge to longer-term future zero emissions fuel cell vehicles. Near-zero emission vehicles are considered a key strategy to improving air quality in Southern California. The AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Air Products is an industry leader in hydrogen safety and engineering, and a global leader in hydrogen production and distribution, as well as the industry leader in hydrogen fueling stations for clean transportation applications with over 40 installations in the United States and abroad in Korea, Singapore, Japan, Germany and India. In California, Air Products has built 12 fueling stations, and its University of California-Davis station was designated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Hydrogen Highway Network Station #1" in 2004, as part of the Governor's "Hydrogen Highway Network" initiative.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in technology, energy, healthcare and industrial markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of products, services and solutions, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $8.1 billion, operations in over 30 countries, and over 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit http://www.airproducts.com/.

Source: Air Products

CONTACT: Media Inquiries: Art George, +1-610-481-1340,
georgeaf@airproducts.com; or Investor Inquiries: Phil Sproger,
+1-610-481-7461, sprogepc@airproducts.com, both of Air Products

Web site: http://www.airproducts.com/

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