Industrial-gases supplier Air Products & Chemicals said it would abandon a plan to build a low-carbon hydrogen plant in Louisiana, writing off up to $2.9 billion. Shares in the company climbed 10% as investors applauded the death of a project that began in hype about decarbonizing the economy but quickly ran into trouble.

The plan, unveiled in 2021, was to extract hydrogen from natural gas, capture the carbon dioxide emissions and sequester them below a lake. But the project ran into environmental objections, cost overruns and a dearth of buyers. Hydrogen could in theory replace fossil fuels in various applications, from steelmaking to ship fuel, but it's too expensive to take off without hefty subsidies.

A half-decade and one CEO change later, the project has met the same fate as several other low-carbon initiatives that Air Products canceled after investors tired of its bet on the energy transition.

Air Products said its decision was based on "expected financial returns not meeting stringent return criteria." It also canceled some other smaller projects, which contributed to the $2.9 billion pretax charge.

Still, it's proceeding with a longstanding low-carbon venture at Neom, Saudi Arabia's desert megaproject, where it is working to finalize a deal to supply ammonia to fertilizer maker Yara International.