Nucor Corp. will invest $200 million over a five-year period in mill modernization projects at its Nucor Steel Berkeley division located in Huger, S.C. A portion of the capital investment will include the construction of a new air-separation unit (ASU) for the purpose of supplying industrial gases for the mill’s steelmaking operations. When complete, the ASU will be operated by UIG LLC, a Nucor wholly owned subsidiary that specializes in industrial gas supply. This project will allow Nucor, through UIG, to produce and supply all the gases needed for the steel mill from the new Nucor-owned facility. Nucor Steel Berkeley is currently supplied with industrial gases under a long-term supply agreement. 

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 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.

Messer and North Star BlueScope Steel (NSBS) entered into an agreement to increase supply of gaseous oxygen in Delta, Ohio. Messer will build a new air-separation unit (ASU) in Delta to increase oxygen supply up to 700 tons per day. NSBS produces hot-rolled coil for use in the automotive, construction, energy and manufacturing industries. The company has embarked on a $700 million expansion plan to increase its steel production from approximately 2.4 million short tons per year by adding 950,000 short tons annually.

Airgas, an Air Liquide company, plans to build two new air-separation units (ASUs) that increase bulk gas production in the Midwest and Northeast and complement the company’s independent supply network throughout the U.S. One ASU will be located near Minneapolis, Minn., and the other will be located in Fairless Hills, Pa. Each ASU will produce oxygen, nitrogen and argon for use in customer applications such as metal fabrication, combustion enhancement, food chilling and freezing.