Air Products Abandons Louisiana Clean Energy Complex as Green Ammonia Focus Shifts to NEOM Project

## Air Products Exits LCEC, Pivots Green Ammonia Strategy to NEOM Air Products (NYSE: APD) has announced it will not proceed with the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex (LCEC), a major blue hydrogen and clean energy project that had been positioned as a cornerstone of the company's low-carbon portfolio in North America. According to a PR Newswire release dated 30 June 2026, the decision to exit the LCEC project — along with other portfolio actions — will result in a pre-tax charge recorded in Air Products' fiscal third quarter. The company did not disclose the precise financial magnitude of the charge in its initial announcement. The LCEC had been intended to produce blue hydrogen and clean ammonia at scale, leveraging carbon capture infrastructure in Louisiana. Its cancellation marks a significant strategic retreat from one of the more ambitious clean energy projects proposed for the US Gulf Coast, a region that has attracted substantial interest from energy majors and shipping stakeholders seeking low-carbon fuel supply chains. ### Yara Agreement Signals Continued Green Ammonia Commitment Despite the LCEC withdrawal, Air Products indicated it is finalising a commercial agreement with Norwegian fertiliser and energy company Yara for the supply of renewable ammonia derived from the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project in Saudi Arabia. The NEOM project — a flagship initiative backed by ACWA Power and NEOM — is designed to produce green hydrogen at industrial scale using renewable energy, with ammonia as the primary export carrier. For the maritime industry, the Yara-Air Products arrangement carries particular relevance. Ammonia is widely regarded as one of the leading zero-carbon fuel candidates for deep-sea shipping, and Yara has been an active participant in ammonia bunkering trials and green fuel supply chain development. A confirmed offtake agreement linking NEOM's green ammonia output to an established distribution network could support the commercial viability of ammonia as a marine fuel at scale. ### Implications for Maritime Green Fuel Supply Chains The LCEC cancellation underscores the ongoing commercial and financial challenges facing large-scale clean energy projects, even as regulatory pressure on shipping emissions intensifies under IMO 2030 and 2050 targets. Shipowners and fuel buyers evaluating ammonia supply options will be watching closely as the NEOM project's commercial framework takes shape. Air Products' strategic pivot toward the NEOM project suggests the company is concentrating its green hydrogen and ammonia ambitions on assets it considers more commercially advanced, though the timeline and volumes associated with the Yara agreement have yet to be publicly confirmed. Further details on the pre-tax charge and the Yara agreement terms are expected when Air Products reports its fiscal third-quarter results.