Seifollah Ghasemi on capital allocation
From $APD Air Products and Chemicals Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call · · EARNMOAR
“We will not take any final investment decision on new projects until our current facilities are loaded at least 75% or more.”
On , Seifollah Ghasemi, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer at Air Products, spoke about capital allocation during $APD Air Products and Chemicals Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call on EARNMOAR.
About Seifollah Ghasemi
Seifollah Ghasemi, chairman, president and CEO of Air Products, has continued to advocate for the development of hydrogen as a solution to climate change, stating that "the only way to address the issue of CO2 emissions in the world is to convert to hydrogen." He has described Air Products as "the largest producer of hydrogen in the world" and said the company is "taking actions right now" by building industrial-scale facilities to produce clean hydrogen. Ghasemi has emphasized the need for government support, arguing that "the energy transition will not happen without the direct support of the governments" and that policymakers should focus on encouraging end customers to use clean energy rather than providing handouts to producers. He has also encouraged young people to "keep the heat on the policy makers" on climate issues. On the company's specific projects, Ghasemi discussed the Neom project in Saudi Arabia, which he said will produce about 650 tons of hydrogen per day, and noted that Air Products is a co-investor in the $5 billion initiative. He stated that the company had committed nearly $16 billion in growth projects by 2020, ahead of its 2022 target. Ghasemi has also described a "stepwise" progression for hydrogen, with gray hydrogen produced from hydrocarbons continuing today, followed by blue hydrogen with carbon capture, and ultimately a transition to green hydrogen produced using renewable electricity. He has said that "it is totally impractical to think that we can get to green hydrogen for all of our energy users in the next 10 years or 15 years" and that blue hydrogen is a necessary intermediate step.