NASA awards $147M hydrogen supply contracts to Plug Power and Air Products
NASA has awarded contracts worth approximately $147.2 million to Plug Power and Air Products to supply nearly 37 million pounds of liquid hydrogen to support rocket launches and aerospace research.
Hydrogen to fuel NASA operations until 2030
The contracts begin on December 1, 2025, and include a two-year base period with three optional one-year extensions. If all options are exercised, deliveries will continue through November 2030.
Who is supplying the hydrogen?
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will deliver up to 36.5 million pounds of liquid hydrogen to three of NASA’s major launch and test sites:
• Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida
• Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama
• Stennis Space Center in Mississippi
This part of the contract is valued at around $144.4 million.
Plug Power, Inc. will supply up to 480,000 pounds of liquid hydrogen to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Their portion of the contract is worth about $2.8 million.
Why hydrogen?
NASA has long used liquid hydrogen as a key rocket fuel, combined with liquid oxygen to power cryogenic rocket engines. Its unique properties also support a wide range of aeronautics research and development projects.
These firm-fixed-price contracts will ensure NASA’s hydrogen supply remains stable as the agency moves forward with space exploration and low-carbon propulsion systems.
