Linde and PBF Energy broke ground in late November on a $100 million hydrogen plant that is being built in Delaware City, Delaware.

The project includes a 25 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) hydrogen plant and supporting infrastructure. Linde will design, build, own and operate the hydrogen plant, which is targeted for start-up during the second quarter of 2020. The hydrogen plant project will create seven permanent jobs.

Feedstock from PBF Energy's nearby refinery will create marine fuels that meet new, global, ultra-low sulfur standards established by the International Maritime Organization that go into effect in 2020.

The Delaware City refinery has a throughput capacity of 190,000 bpd. It has the capability to process a diverse heavy slate of crudes with a high concentration of high-sulfur crudes, making it one of the largest and most complex refineries on the East Coast.

The hydrogen production plant will include a steam methane reformer and a selective-catalytic reduction process unit to reduce plant air emissions.

The Linde Group is one of the leading gas and engineering companies in the world, with some 58,000 employees working in more than 100 countries.

The announcement came a day after Air Liquide said that it would invest $150 million to build a liquid hydrogen production unit with a capacity to produce nearly 30 tons of hydrogen per day.

Air Liquide signed a long-term agreement with FirstElement Fuel Inc. to supply hydrogen for retail liquid hydrogen fueling stations in California. Construction work on that plant is expected to begin in early 2019.