Messer will invest over $50 million to build a large-scale air-separation unit (ASU) in McGregor, Texas. The ASU will operate substantially off energy supplied from an on-site solar-panel array. It is the first Messer plant to be powered by a co-located renewable energy source. The ASU will produce gases that support local industries including aerospace, metals, chemical, electronics, and oil and gas. The ASU is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2024.

Air Products will build, own and operate a 10-metric-ton/day facility to produce green liquid hydrogen in Casa Grande, Ariz. The zero-carbon liquid hydrogen facility is expected to be on-stream in 2023. Its product will be sold to the hydrogen-for-mobility market in California and other locations requiring zero-carbon hydrogen. The facility will use two Thyssenkrupp nucera electrolyzers to produce gaseous hydrogen, which will be converted to liquid hydrogen using Air Products’ proprietary technology.

Air Products, together with its regional partner Saudi Arabian Refrigerant Gases Company of Saudi Arabia (SARGAS), signed an agreement to build a new air-separation unit (ASU) at Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel in Sohar, Oman. The unit will produce a total of over 400 tons/day of oxygen and nitrogen to the facility. The addition of the new ASU will increase capacity of gaseous oxygen and gaseous nitrogen by 50%. It will also increase production capability of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen.

Air Liquide and Jiangsu Shagang Group, the largest private steel enterprise in China, signed a long-term agreement for the supply of industrial gases in Jiangsu Province, China. Air Liquide will invest approximately $118 million to build an air-separation unit (ASU) on the site, where it already operates two other ASUs. Under a 20-year contract, Air Liquide will build, own and operate the ASU, which has a daily capacity of 3,800 metric tons of oxygen. The company says it will be the largest single ASU for the steel industry in the world. When it starts up at the end of 2023, it will bring the total installed oxygen capacity to over 8,000 metric tons per day on the site.

Air Liquide announced a long-term supply agreement with Eastman Chemical Company to provide additional gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and syngas supporting the company’s production in Longview, Texas. Air Liquide will invest more than $160 million to build a new air-separation unit (ASU) and partial oxidation unit (POX) and modernize existing assets. With this agreement and additional production capacity of the ASU and POX, Air Liquide will supply Eastman gaseous oxygen and nitrogen, as well as syngas. The new ASU and POX will begin production in late 2021 and will be integrated into the existing facilities.

Linde announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Praxair Inc., will begin operating under the Linde name effective September 1. This name change reflects the company’s evolution following the merger of Praxair Inc. and Linde AG. The combined product and service portfolios of the new Linde offer customers more options to improve operational efficiency and plan for future growth. The primary customer contact for products and services will remain the same. Beginning September 1, information on the U.S. business can be found at www.LindeUS.com.

Air Liquide signed a long-term agreement with Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) to supply gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and argon to SDI’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Sinton, Texas. To support the agreement, Air Liquide plans to invest over $100 million to install an air-separation unit (ASU) on its Gulf Coast pipeline network in Ingleside, Texas, and extend its pipeline network to SDI’s site.

Just as we’ve done in the past with other topics, Industrial Heating will take a look at the most-viewed Vacuum/Surface Treating articles (in terms of page views) on our website. Data was collected for 12 months, from August 2018 to August 2019.

Messer will invest $38 million to build a new air-separation plant in Indianapolis, Ind. The production facility for oxygen, nitrogen and argon is scheduled to go into operation in early 2021. It will produce industrial and medical-grade gases for various sectors of the local and regional economy, including the metal industry. The investment is expected to create 23 new permanent jobs by the end of 2021. In addition, Messer estimates that 60 to 80 temporary local jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project.

Air Products held a construction celebration and ceremonial groundbreaking for its new global headquarters in Lehigh Valley, Pa. The facility is being built a little over 1 mile from its existing location on a 50-acre tract of property. Occupancy is targeted for summer 2021. The new location will be the base for approximately 2,000 employees with capacity for growth.