Category: News

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE: APD) today announced a definitive agreement to purchase ACP Europe SA (ACP), the largest independent carbon dioxide (CO₂) business in Continental Europe. The transaction will complement Air Products’ European CO₂ capabilities in core geographies where the company already provides industrial gases.

“We are delighted to announce this transaction to acquire ACP.  We are committed to invest in our core industrial gas business where it creates significant value for our shareholders, and the acquisition of ACP fulfils that criteria. ACP has a quality, well-run European CO₂ business that like Air Products, prioritizes safety above all else,” commented Ivo Bols, president, Industrial Gases–Europe and Africa at Air Products. “Together, with our complementary product portfolio and customer-centric approach, this acquisition will enable us to better serve our existing customers and pursue new industrial gas growth opportunities.”

Today, Air Products supplies a broad portfolio of industrial gases across 13 European countries including liquid CO₂ from its operations in Spain and Poland. Through the acquisition of ACP, Air Products would expand its liquid CO₂ supply position across additional European geographies and further build density throughout Continental Europe.

“We have a long history providing excellent service to our CO₂ customers based on the expertise and dedication of our employees. Combining our business with a world-leading industrial gas company committed to safety will provide customers with an expanded product portfolio and broader sourcing and supply chain capabilities, while offering our talented people significant opportunities for the future,” said Jan De Ridder, Director, ACP.

ACP has more than 120 employees, four liquid CO₂ production plants and two dry ice production locations across Europe. The business serves customers across a variety of applications including beverage, chemical, food and horticulture.

Closing of the transaction is conditional upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.  Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company’s core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world’s leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2017 sales of $8.2 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $35 billion. Approximately 15,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from a diversity of backgrounds are driven by Air Products’ higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company’s Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2017.

Source:  Air Products

Air Liquide invested over $30 million these past two years to build this new facility and enhance its bulk distribution fleet in Ontario and Quebec.

MONTREAL, Feb. 9, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Liquide Canada, a subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group, world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health, officially inaugurated today its brand new carbon dioxide (CO₂) recovery plant, strategically located in Johnstown, Ontario.

This truly unique plant is the only one in Canada with a Health Canada drug establishment licence authorizing the fabrication, testing, packaging and labeling of medical grade CO₂ in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Food and Drugs Act, as well as the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) requirements of the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations.

Boasting a 300+ Tons Per Day (TPD) capacity, this latest addition to Air Liquide facilities in Canada is now in full operation mode and delivers premium CO₂ that is also FSSC (Food Safety System Certification) and NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified.

State-of-the-art facility

“With its state-of-the-art design and latest technology, the 170,000 square feet facility enables us to capture the raw CO₂ waste feed from Greenfield, leading Canadian ethanol supplier, and transform it (thus preserving the environment) into liquified CO₂ gas, which is then delivered to Air Liquide Central Canada customers who will use it mainly in the food, water treatment and manufacturing industries,” explained Bertrand Masselot, President and CEO of Air Liquide in Canada, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where he also acknowledged and saluted the hard work of the Air Liquide employees who made all this possible. Some of those employees were acting as guides for the tour of the facilities that followed the presentations.

Ross Fuller, Vice-President, Process Industries, commented: “After just four months of tests, audits and certifications, the results are astonishing: major industrial customers in Quebec and Ontario benefit from a nearby high quality gas supply source and Air Liquide makes a significant contribution to the local economy. The Johnstown CO₂recovery plant will position Air Liquide for continued growth as a leading medical and industrial gas provider inCanada.“

About Air Liquide in Canada
Air Liquide started its activity in Canada in 1911 and has now a team of more than 2,500 employees working to serve more than 200,000 customers and patients across Canada. In all of the country’s key industrial regions from coast to coast, Air Liquide offers innovative solutions — gas, equipment and services — in a wide variety of sectors: aeronautics, automotive, agri-food industries, chemical, metallurgy, metal fabrication, mining, oil and gas and healthcare.

Air Liquide has been operating in Ontario since 1913, and now employs 840 people in the province where it operates seven plants, 19 retail locations, 35 sleep clinics, 115 depots, its largest hardgoods distribution center and a major liquid supply center.

The world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with approximately 65,000 employees and serves more than 3 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide’s scientific territory and have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902.

Air Liquide’s ambition is to lead its industry, deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability. The company’s customer-centric transformation strategy aims at profitable growth over the long term. It relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open innovation and a network organization implemented by the Group worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people, Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its stakeholders.

Air Liquide’s revenue amounted to €18.1 billion in 2016 and its solutions that protect life and the environment represented more than 40% of sales. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes.

Source:  www.airliquide.ca

The recently signed US two-year budget deal — featuring bipartisan support for a $35 per ton tax incentive for carbon captured and recycled from power plants or industrial facilities using algae or other biologically-based carbon capture and use (CCU) systems — is termed a win-win by the Algae Biomass Organization (ABO). The tax credit, passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last week, will accelerate the development of projects that use algae to recycle CO₂ into a wide range of sustainable, low-carbon products, says ABO.

“This is the type of win-win policy that can help boost the nation’s technological competitiveness while also supporting environmental objectives. We are building the underpinnings of a new industry, creating high-quality jobs across the United States and converting carbon into the commodity of the future,” said Matt Carr, executive director of the ABO. “This incentive to use carbon emissions for industry and agriculture will help bring advanced algae farming technologies into the mainstream. We expect to see even more sustainable, high-performing algae-based products and applications in markets for food and nutrition, advanced materials, energy and more.”

The bill passed last week adds algae and a number of other CCU approaches to the existing section 45Q Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) tax credit, which was previously available only to geologic storage and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. It also substantially increases the credit rate from the previous $10 a ton to $35 a ton, extends the credit for up to 12 years, and expands the universe of eligible CO₂ sources to include industrial and air capture facilities in addition to fossil power plants.

This historic outcome is the result of work by ABO and its supporters in Congress to put algae on a level playing field with CCS and EOR when it comes to carbon capture policy, and to grow federal policy support for the full spectrum of CCU approaches.

ABO says they are especially grateful for the efforts of Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) for leading the effort to include carbon utilization in the bill; to the Congressional Algae Caucus for its support in the House, and to the ABO members and algae industry enthusiasts that participated in this historic campaign.

Source:  AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

PETALING JAYA: Engineering services company Kelington plans to invest up to RM60mil to build a carbon dioxide gas purification plant, following a supply agreement which was inked between its subsidiary and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

Its maiden foray into the business of industrial gases is expected to yield nearly RM1bil in revenue over the lifespan of the gas purification plant.

The group expected to finance the development of the gas plant via a combination of internally generated funds and borrowings.

Kelington’s 94%-owned subsidiary, Ace Gases Sdn Bhd, will be purchasing over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide waste gas per year from Petronas’s gas processing plant in Kerteh, Terengganu.

The supply agreement between Ace Gases and Petronas will be effective for 15 years, commencing in 2019.

“The purchase of carbon dioxide waste gas will be funded through internally generated funds.

“The supply agreement is not expected to contribute to the earnings and net assets of Kelington Group for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2017 and Dec 31, 2018.

However, it is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets per share of Kelington Group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2019,” stated the engineering services company.

In a separate press release, Kelington chief exective officer Raymond Gan (pic) said that the new venture marks the group’s objective to have a strong long-term recurring revenue stream.

“This is our first major investment in our new industrial gas business and we will continue to expand our production manufacturing capacity of other types of gases, in addition to liquid carbon dioxide, at a suitable timing in the future.

“The new venture complements our existing project-based business model of providing engineering services which are usually completed within six to 12 months.

“In the coming years, demand for liquid carbon dioxide is expected to grow further on the back of rising demand in the food and beverages industry as well as the upcoming roll-out of large infrastructure and construction projects,” said Gan.

Source:  https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/11/21/kelington-to-invest-up-to-rm60mil-in-gas-plant/#96tBV4sWi66yv9HO.99

Showa Denko Gas Products Co., Ltd. (SGP), a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko (SDK) (Tokyo: 4004) headquartered in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, has decided to found a new plant to produce liquefied carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas in Showa Denko’s Oita Petrochemical Complex located in Oita City, Oita Prefecture. SDK and SGP plan to make the new plant utilize stable CO₂ gas sources in the chemical plant of the Complex. The new plant is scheduled to be completed and start operation in August 2018, and will have annual production capacity of 15,000 tons. Foundation of the new plant will make SGP’s liquefied CO₂ gas production system to have two production bases in Kyushu region.

CO2 gas and dry ice (solidified CO₂) are used in many fields including beverage, food, and other manufacturing industries. Liquefied CO2 gas is made of CO₂ gas generated as a by-product of oil-refining, steel-making and ammonia production processes. However, the scaling back of oil-refining and ammonia production processes in Japan has been resulting in reduction in sources of raw CO₂ gas to produce liquefied CO₂ gas. Thus a tight supply-demand situation for liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice is chronic.

The Showa Denko Group produces and provides liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice at many production bases including Kawasaki Plant, which functions as the main base. To solve tight supply-demand situation and regional supply-demand imbalances concerning liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice, and to maintain stable supply of these products to our customers throughout the country, the Showa Denko Group has been increasing production of them at Kawasaki Plant, supplying them through long distance transportation, and importing dry ice even in off-peak seasons other than summer until now. However, substantial rises in transportation and raw material costs are problems to be solved as soon as possible.

Since further reduction in sources of raw CO₂ gas is foreseen, the supply-demand situation for liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice is expected to be even tighter in the future. To cope with these problems and maintain stable supply of liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice to our customers in Kyushu, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions, SDK and SGP decided to found the new base to produce liquefied CO₂ gas in the Showa Denko Group’s Oita Petrochemical Complex. Taking advantage of the strengthened supply system, SDK and SGP will cope with changes in the supply-demand balances of liquefied CO₂ gas and dry ice in a flexible and timely manner, while having due regard to further expansion of the Group’s capacity to produce these products in the future.

In our ongoing medium-term business plan, “Project 2020+,” we position our industrial gases business including CO2 gas and dry ice business as “Base-shaping” business. The Showa Denko Group will further strengthen the basis of our industrial gases business through various measures including development of new uses in the fields of foods, agriculture, and civil engineering.

Media contact:
Public Relations Office (Phone: 81-3-5470-3235)

Source:  SDK.CO.JP

The ACP Group has started the construction of a third liquid CO₂ purification line with a 15 tons per hour capacity in Włocławek, Poland. The total cost of investment amounts to €10 million. The completion time is planned for June 2018.

ACP’s Polish liquid CO₂ recovery plants are located at the Anwil S.A. site, which is the exclusive supplier of raw CO₂ gas to the ACP plants in Poland. Anwil S.A. owns two independent ammonia production lines which supply the raw CO₂ gas. Supplies of CO₂ gas from Anwil S.A. are carried out on a continuous basis. As a result, ACP can guarantee stable supplies and high quality liquefied gas.

With this new investment, ACP will have three independent food quality liquid CO₂ purification lines and will reach a total capacity of 37,5 t/hour. This results in a potential recovery of 300.000 tons of CO₂ per year and allows an uninterrupted, 24/7 production covering the growing demand for pure liquid CO₂.

This additional production volume, the large storage capacity and the existing railway connection will allow us not only to serve the Polish market, but also to secure the supply to Western Europe and our customers in Ukraine. It will strengthen ACP’s position as the largest producer and supplier of liquid CO₂and dry ice in Poland and as a leading liquid CO₂ supplier in Europe.

Thanks to our modern state of the art liquid CO₂ purification plants, ACP continues to set the standards and meets the highest safety and quality requirements on the international market.

ACP’s high quality liquid CO₂ can be used in various commercial applications among which are beverages, cooling and freezing of foodstuffs, feeding plants in greenhouses, animal stunning, waste water neutralization, cryogenic transport or packaging of food in a protective atmosphere (Modified Atmosphere Packing). The increased production will enable ACP to expand its activities to new market segments and new CO₂ applications.

source:  www.APCCO2.com

Air Liquide has recently inaugurated a carbon dioxide (CO₂) Recovery Plant, in partnership with AGL Energy, leading Australian energy supplier. The new Air Liquide’s plant will capture 50,000 tonnes per year of CO₂ released by AGL Energy’s power plant, located in Torrens Island, Adelaide – South Australia. CO₂ produced by the power generation is now captured, concentrated, purified, liquefied and then delivered by Air Liquide to its South Australia’s customers.

Air Liquide’s state-of-the-art CO₂ recovery plant converts industrial emissions of carbon dioxide into a food-grade gas certified for food processing and beverage carbonation. According to the most demanding food standards, this purified CO₂ is used for food modified atmosphere packaging, as well as for freezing and chilling applications.

This plant also provides industrial customers with carbon dioxide for water treatment, pH regulation, welding gases and dry ice in particular.

source:  www.airliquide.com

In March 2017 the world’s largest privately run industrial gases specialist, Messer, opened its biggest CO2 recovery plant on the globe in Nanjing, China. This makes the company the most important provider of recycled CO2 in China. The plant has a capacity of 150 thousand tonnes per year and meets the highest demands for quality and energy efficiency. The gas can be used in the food industry, for example as the carbon dioxide in beverages. In addition to Nanjing, Messer had already commissioned one plant in Yunnan in 2014 and another in Sichuan in 2015. Messer is now recovering a total of 300 thousand tonnes of CO2 from industrial processes per year in China.

Many industrial processes exhale CO2. Recovery plants withdrawn this gas before it can escape. It is then purified in multiple steps for reuse. Customers in the expanding food and beverage industries, as well as chemical and agriculture are all to be supplied from Nanjing. “Thanks to our provision of high-quality CO2 in food-grade quality, along with our own 120 years of experience, we want to help our customers to improve productivity, lower costs and enhance the quality of their products,” says Stefan Messer, owner and CEO of Messer Group.

In addition to the CO2 recovery plant, Messer is also commissioning a new technology centre for gas applications in Nanjing. “With the support and know-how of our international experts, application technologists will be developing custom solutions for the Chinese market here.”

Source:   www.messergroup.com

LONDON – January 31, 2017 – Pentair plc (NYSE: PNR) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Union Engineering A/S, headquartered in Fredericia, Denmark. Union Engineering specializes in sustainable technologies for capturing, recovering and purification of carbon dioxide.

As an established leader in carbon dioxide management and recovery with its Haffmans brand, the addition of Union Engineering’s technologies and service capabilities reinforces and expands Pentair’s offerings within the Industrial Gas, Food & Beverage and Biogas Upgrading sectors.
‘Pentair is committed to providing innovative solutions that help build a safer, more sustainable world,’ says Daniel Stirpe, Pentair Vice President, Process Technologies. ‘Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and utilizing renewable energy sources are global challenges which Pentair addresses with its carbon dioxide capture and reuse and biogas upgrading solutions, and the addition of Union Engineering’s solutions and services will provide customers greater access to innovative solutions and a wider and complimentary product portfolio.’

Jens Thøger Hansen, partner in Capidea and former chairman of Union Engineering adds: ‘We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Pentair as the two companies complement each other well in a number of areas. We believe that Union Engineering, under Pentair, will continue the positive development and have an even stronger foundation in the market for carbon dioxide equipment for the benefit of both customers and employees going forward.’

Union Engineering employs approximately 185 people, and has sales offices in China, Brazil and the United States. The seller is the Danish private equity fund Capidea and a number of minority shareholders. The partly owned subsidiary Airco Diet A/S is not part of the transaction and is still owned by Capidea and a number of minority shareholders.
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About Pentair plc
Pentair plc (www.pentair.com) delivers industry-leading products, services, and solutions for its customers’ diverse needs in water and other fluids, thermal management, and equipment protection. With 2016 revenues of $4.9 billion, Pentair employs approximately 26,000 people worldwide.

About Union Engineering
Union Engineering is a global leading engineering company specialized within sustainable technologies for capturing, recovering and purification of CO. The main activities are engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance of modular and individually designed CO plants. Over the last 30 years, Union Engineering has delivered more than 1,000 CO plants in 110 countries and has a wide range of unique patents.
For more about Union Engineering, please see www.union.dk.

About Capidea
Capidea is a Danish private equity fund making long-term investments in competitive small and medium-sized Danish companies. Capidea was established in November 2006 and has a total capital commitment of approximately DKK 1.5 billion / EUR 200 million in two funds.
Other than institutional investors, Capidea’s investor base includes an attractive group of private individuals and blue chip companies, which are an active part of Capidea’s network. Capidea invests in companies within trading, distribution, service and manufacturing. Since 2006, Capidea has acquired 15 companies with a total turnover exceeding DKK 4 billion / EUR 530 million.
For more about Capidea, please see www.capidea.eu.

Source:  Pentair  Press release 

LONDON — Linde of Germany said on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement on a potential “merger of equals” with Praxair, an American rival, in a deal that would bring together two of the world’s largest suppliers of industrial-gas products.

The nonbinding agreement came less than two weeks after Linde said it would resume talks with Praxair. Linde had called off discussions in September.

Merging the companies would create a giant with more than $30 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of more than $60 billion.

The combined company would operate under the Linde name, and its board of directors would be split evenly between representatives from the two companies, Linde said.

The next steps for the merger include the boards of both companies reaching a legally binding agreement and approval from regulators. Shareholders controlling at least 75 percent of Linde’s stock would also have to agree for the deal to proceed.

Under the terms of the transaction, investors would receive 1.54 shares in the new company for each Linde share they hold. Praxair shareholders would receive one share in the new company for each Praxair share.

Steve Angel, the Praxair chief executive, would serve as chief executive of the combined company; Wolfgang Reitzle, the Linde chairman, would be chairman.

The new company would have stock listings in New York and in Frankfurt and would be domiciled in Europe. Corporate functions would be split between Danbury, Conn., where Praxair is based, and Munich, where Linde is based.

Linde said that the transaction was expected to save about $1 billion a year.

The German company called off merger talks in September, saying that shareholder representatives on its supervisory board, along with its chief executive, had recommended that it terminate discussions.

The day after the talks collapsed, Linde said that its chief financial officer, Georg Denoke, would step down immediately and that its chief executive, Wolfgang Büchele, would leave next year in a management shake-up.

This month, Linde said that Aldo Belloni would take over as chief executive and that it would resume talks with Praxair.

Praxair’s main products include oxygen, carbon dioxide and helium. It also manufactures equipment to produce other gases used in industry. The company generated $10.8 billion in sales in 2015 and has about 26,000 employees in more than 50 countries.

Linde has three divisions focused on industrial gases, engineering and supply chain services. Its gas division concentrates on industrial and medical gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon.

The company generated 17.9 billion euros, or about $18.7 billion, in revenue in 2015 and has about 64,000 employees in more than 100 countries.

Source:  The New York Times, 20 Dec. 2016