Linde plc's $2.2 Billion in Projects Fueled by Hydrogen, Petrochemical Needs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The global industrial gases market saw a slowdown in growth in 2019, but Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) (Guildford, England) expects demand from petrochemical producers and clean-energy providers will support its most immediate plans for expansion over the coming year. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $2.2 billion in active projects worldwide from Linde plc, which was born in late 2018 out of a merger between Linde AG and Praxair; nearly $1.1 billion worth is found in the U.S.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Linde plc's active U.S. projects, by state.

One of the most prosperous corners of the industrial gases market is hydrogen generation. Growing demand for renewable energy and safer fuels is expected to propel the global hydrogen-generation market to a compound annual growth rate of 5.8%, according to Grand View Research (San Francisco, California), reaching $180 billion in value by 2025. Linde began construction late last year on a hydrogen unit at its air separation plant in La Porte, Texas, which is expected to produce 30 tons per day of hydrogen.

More ambitiously, the company is preparing to begin construction on a world-scale hydrogen plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, toward the end of this year.

The St. James unit, which is expected to produce at least 170 million standard cubic feet per day of high-purity hydrogen, was initiated by Praxair in late 2018, before its merger with Linde, according to Louisiana's The Advocate. The company plans to integrate the new unit into its Mississippi River corridor hydrogen pipeline system, hiking its total output to 1.7 billion standard cubic feet per day. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the La Porte and St. James Parish projects.

Linde has several projects in other areas of the industrial gases market that are set to wrap up in the coming months. A HyCO plant in Pasadena, Texas, which will be part of Linde's Clear Lake complex, will produce about 80 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen ("Hy") and carbon monoxide ("CO"). An expansion of an air separation plant in Neosho, Missouri, will double the capacity of the 470-ton-per-day oxygen, nitrogen and argon production plant, using equipment from an idled plant in Kentucky. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Clear Lake and Missouri projects.

Before the end of the year, Linde expects to begin and complete several upgrades on aging units across the country. A replacement of a regenerator at an air separation plant in Ecorse, Michigan, will retire a 50-year-old, 400-ton-per-day unit, and an upgrade of a cooling tower at an air separation plant in Loveland, Colorado, will swap out any outdated fans, drift eliminators and drive shafts. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Michigan and Colorado projects.

In addition to its work in the Chemical Processing Industry, Linde plays a role in the Petroleum Refining Industry's adoption of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Tier 3 gasoline requirements, which limit sulfur content to 10 parts per million. The company expects to wrap up construction on its steam methane reformer in Delaware City, Delaware, this spring. The 25 million-standard-cubic-foot-per-day unit will be built next to the Delaware City Refinery, which it will supply with hydrogen to remove sulfur from crude products developed in other refining processes. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.