Can you tell me more about your company? What do you do and how does your technology work?
Air Products Sustainability touches everyday lives in big and small ways. From the helium in your child’s birthday balloon, the nitrogen to freeze your burgers, the oxygen in hospitals, the gas keeping salads fresher for longer, or the welding gases to make your car – there’s a high chance that those gases came from Air Products. And then there’s hydrogen as an alternative, clean fuel for transport and manufacturing – we’re the world’s largest hydrogen supplier.
Also read: How Manufacturers Can Tackle Rising Energy Costs
Let me give you a bit more detail on just some of our areas of operation. We are, for example, a major supplier of helium – the gas used in MRI machines, data centres to control temperatures, and in the manufacturing of semiconductors. It’s also used in High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) to enable mapping, environmental monitoring, telecommunication, and even aid disaster response.
In the leisure sector we work with pub groups like Young’s to supply the gas that creates the foam on beer and puts the fizz in your drink. We’re the only company in the UK that enhances safety and efficiency through our ‘fit and forget systems’: we remotely monitor the gas usage and fill up the gas tanks before they’re empty so that staff can focus on serving customers and not changing cylinders.
We operate in more than 50 countries, with over 750 production facilities globally, serving more than 250,000 customers. But to me, the true value that Air Products brings to customers is not just our scale – it’s our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and people. We’re not just supplying gases; we’re working with industries to drive real change and generate a cleaner future.
What motivated you to join the engineering sector?
I’ve always been fascinated by how things work. Engineering is all about problem-solving, and that’s what drew me in. I love the idea that through science and technology, we can take on huge challenges – whether that’s making industries more efficient, reducing emissions, or creating entirely new energy solutions.
One of the things I love most about my job is the opportunity to drive real, tangible change – not just within Air Products, but in the industries we support. Engineering and industrial gases might not always be in the spotlight, but they’re absolutely essential to modern life. And now, with the world’s focus on sustainability and clean energy, our work has never been more important. So, it’s a sector that keeps me inspired every day.
What is your management approach, and why do you think it is effective in your line of work?
For me, leadership starts with people. No business can succeed without a strong, motivated, and engaged team. That’s why I put a huge focus on building a positive, inclusive culture where people feel valued, heard, and empowered to do their best work.
Diversity and inclusion are priorities for me. I’m passionate about making sure that everyone – regardless of their background – has opportunities to grow and succeed. We’ve built a strong Inclusion Network at Air Products, with 13 Employee Resource Groups and Diversity & Inclusion Councils across the company. Each group plays an important role and I’m particularly proud of Fulcrum, for which I am the executive sponsor. Fulcrum’s mission is to connect ethnic and culturally diverse employees with allies to create balance, belonging and support.
Ultimately, my approach to leadership is about trust, empowerment, and clarity. I set high expectations, give people the tools and support they need to succeed and make sure to listen.
Can you tell me more about decarbonisation – why is it important to you and in what ways is Air Products tackling this?
Decarbonisation is absolutely critical – not just for Air Products, but for the entire world. As a leader in industrial gases and an enabler of so many other industries and sectors, we have a major role to play in making that happen.
Our gases help businesses across dozens of industries including chemicals, transport and manufacturing to improve yields, reduce energy consumption and lower emissions – in other words, to make more with less while reducing impact on the environment.
We’re the largest hydrogen supplier in the world and are investing in hydrogen production, infrastructure, and supply chains to help accelerate its adoption.
We’ve also set ambitious sustainability goals for ourselves. By 2030, we aim to cut the carbon intensity of our operations by a third. Data has become increasingly important in enabling us to identify where to focus our investment and resource, and secure maximum reductions in energy use.
It is thanks to this data-rich approach that we were able to, for example, identify an overuse of power at our Carrington plant, and adjust operations accordingly. Similarly, at our Didcot plant, digital insights allowed us to identify and trace an increase in energy consumption back to a malfunctioning piece of kit, addressing the issue in question and further improving overall energy efficiency to boot.
How are traditional industries restructuring to support the decarbonisation movement? What alternatives and methods are they using?
Industries know that change is coming, and the ones that move fastest will be the ones that thrive. We’re seeing a massive shift towards cleaner technologies and alternative fuels, and businesses across all sectors are rethinking how they operate.
The best route to decarbonisation varies from sector to sector. For example, heavy industries like steelmaking, transport, and chemicals have traditionally relied on fossil fuels, but hydrogen is emerging as a cleaner alternative.
However, making the switch to renewable hydrogen is not a quick solution. A large-scale, renewable, and reliable hydrogen supply is not currently available, despite major efforts to increase production. Oxyfuel combustion technology can bridge that gap and help improve thermal efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40%.
We work with manufacturers to ensure that oxyfuel combustion technology is compatible both with a natural gas / renewable hydrogen blend and with 100% renewable hydrogen fuel. This is to make sure that when hydrogen becomes readily available and affordable, the manufacturers are able to switch from oxyfuel to hydrogen with ease.
Data and digitalisation have a critical role to play too. For Tandom Metallurgical Group, a metal manufacturing client, we created a digital twin of its melting process to show how we can enhance its efficiency and effectiveness with oxygen-enhanced combustion technology. This identified opportunities to reduce metal tapping temperature and in so doing cut energy use and CO2 emissions by 15% - something that can be actioned right away.
Another example would be Air Products Smart Technology, our remote monitoring system. It uses wireless communications technology and smart meters to track process parameters and suggest improvements based on these analytics. Such tools can monitor key statistics and operating conditions, such as nitrogen usage in the food industry, helping businesses reduce their own energy outputs to drive down industry-wide emissions.
These are just a few of the many ways we’re looking at the decarbonisation challenges our clients face and working with them to find a way forward.
Is industry capable of decarbonising? Or are there setbacks we need to consider?
It’s absolutely possible but it’s not going to be easy. Decarbonisation is a challenge, and there are real hurdles to overcome – from cost to infrastructure and policy.
Governments, businesses and investors need to work together to make innovative solutions viable at scale. Technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture are proven and require investment to roll out at an industrial level.
It’s also critical that we encourage businesses across all sectors to look at decarbonisation as a step by step journey – shining a spotlight on ways to make their operations as efficient as possible in the immediate to short term and showing them how they can then adopt additional alternative fuel solutions as they become available. Doing something is always better than waiting for the perfect solution. That will come, but decarbonisation often requires small steps forward rather than one giant leap!
The signs are positive though and I’m very optimistic – we have momentum, we have the technology, the investment is growing, and the commitment from industries and governments is stronger than ever. It’s an exciting time to be working in manufacturing and industry.
