Linde's U.S. Growth Shows Shades of Green, Blue

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial gases company Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) (Woking, England) is furthering its role in the growing U.S. market for "blue" and "green" chemical products with plans for a blue ammonia plant on the Texas Gulf Coast. It will cater to OCI Beaumont LLC's (Nederland, Texas) greenfield blue ammonia facility, the first of its scale to be built in the U.S. Industrial Info is tracking about $1.5 billion worth of active projects from Linde and more than $3.4 billion from OCI in the U.S.

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

Traditional commodities such as hydrogen, ammonia and methanol are going green, or at least "blue." Many U.S.-based producers are using natural gas to produce these chemicals, with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology used to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; this is called "blue" production. These commodities also can be produced via the electrolysis of water, a "green" process that can be powered by renewable energy. While this eliminates carbon from the equation entirely, it is an expensive technology to implement and maintain.

Also called "Project Deep Blue," OCI's $2.8 billion blue ammonia unit addition at its methanol and ammonia complex in Nederland, Texas, is designed to produce about 1.1 million tons per year of ammonia. Linde will supply OCI with clean hydrogen, provided via the on-site facility owned and operated by Linde, which will sequester more than 1.7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year, according to Linde.

OCI and Linde's components of Project Deep Blue currently are expected to start up in the first quarter of 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can learn more from detailed reports on the Project Deep Blue and Linde's hydrogen plant.

"In addition to supplying OCI, Linde will also use its extensive pipeline network to provide clean hydrogen to existing and new customers in the U.S. Gulf Coast, addressing the increasing demand from companies to decarbonize their operations," Linde said in a press release. "The facility will also supply atmospheric and rare gases to existing and new customers."

Over the past two years, the Texas Gulf Coast has become a top destination for blue hydrogen and related carbon-capture and storage (CCS) developments. Ammonia projects also have grown, encouraged by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 and a host of federal and state-level incentives. For more information, see February 6, 2023, article - Majors, Others Continue Rush to Blue Hydrogen on Texas Gulf Coast.

Other Linde efforts in Texas include the addition of a hydrogen liquefaction unit at its air-separation plant in La Porte, which is expected to begin construction later this year. The new unit is expected to produce up to 30 tons per day of liquefied hydrogen, doubling the plant's capacity. The hydrogen to be liquefied is supplied by Linde's 370-mile U.S. Gulf Coast pipeline. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project profile.

Linde's efforts in green hydrogen can be found in its Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer unit addition in Niagara Falls, New York, which will use hydroelectric power to produce green liquid hydrogen. The plant, which is located at Linde's existing air-separation complex, is expected to start up in 2025. The new plant will be the largest electrolyzer installed by Linde globally, and it will more than double Linde's green liquid hydrogen production capacity in the U.S., according to the company. Subscribers can read more in a detailed project profile.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active projects in the U.S. from Linde, and can click here for a full list for OCI.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).