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WFMZ-TV

08 June 2023
By Jeff Ward
 

Air Products CEO touts company's role in transformation to clean energy future

U. MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. - Air Products & Chemicals is poised to play a big role in the global transformation to clean energy, Chief Executive Seifi Ghasemi said again Thursday.

"We have a higher purpose that is about more than just making a buck," said Ghasemi, who is also the company's chairman and president.

The company is out to make money, but it can make a profit and fight climate change at the same time. Ghasemi spoke at Deutsche Bank's 14th Annual Global Industrials, Materials & Buildings Products Conference in New York City.

Ghasemi said the Upper Macungie Township-based company's dual purpose of profit and public good helps it recruit staff.

"We have no problem whatsoever at hiring people, and very good people," he said.

Young people are focused on Air Products' forward-looking stance, he said.

Ghasemi does not qualify as young, but he remains committed to the maker of industrial gases. Last month, at age 78, he agreed to a five-year deal to stay on top. Ghasemi's total 2022 compensation was $18.5 million, according to an Air Products filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

During the conference in New York, Ghasemi hit upon some familiar themes, such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Joseph Biden. The IRA includes subsidies for green energy, and Air Products is a big beneficiary.

"It really addresses a key issue of climate change, which is 'decarbonization' of heavy industry, heavy trucks," Ghasemi said.

Air Products produces hydrogen, which can replace fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are linked to climate change.

"The IRA is heavily tilted toward hydrogen," Ghasemi said, and Air Products is the world's biggest hydrogen company.

Air Products makes conventional 'grey' hydrogen, which produces emissions; 'blue' hydrogen, in which the emissions are captured and stored underground, and 'green' hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made with renewable energy and does not generate carbon emissions.

The IRA subsidy of green hydrogen will help down the price and promote consumption, he said.

For heavy industry and transport, "hydrogen is the only solution" that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

The IRA also stimulates investment in the U.S. and opportunities for hydrogen export, he said. Europe and Japan, for example, must import energy.

When asked at the Deutsche Bank conference about competitors, Ghasemi responded, "Whom are you talking about?"

The industrial gas energy requires huge investment and scale. Ghasemi has said before that it is not an industry for dabblers. Air Products has been in it for decades.

"We are so far ahead of everybody else that we don't feel somebody's going to eat our lunch," he said.

When asked about the potential for a government levy on fossil fuels in the U.S., Ghasemi said, "Politically, it's very difficult to do a carbon tax in the United States." At the same time, the IRA is providing a tax break on green energy, and he said that break will make a difference.

Shares in Air Products are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol APD. The price at 1 p.m. Thursday was $282.60. In the last 52 weeks, the shares have traded as high as $328.56 and as low as $218.88.

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