The Linde Group and Sinopec signed a €145-mln joint venture agreement

A view of the port area of Niangbo industrial cluster (image courtesy of  Jingsourcing.com)

A view of the port area of Niangbo industrial cluster (image courtesy of Jingsourcing.com)

Sinopec and Linde signed a €145 million joint venture to strengthen air gases supply in Ningbo industrial cluster in China, becoming the sixth consecutive joint venture in the long-term partnership.
These three additional air separation plants will double Linde’s production capacity of air gases in the Ningbo cluster and will be connected to its existing pipeline supply network across Ningbo.
The agreement deals with the supply of vital industrial gases to local customers from key industries such as petrochemical, steel and electronics, within the Ningbo Chemical Industrial Zone in China’s Zhejiang province.
Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company and Linde will each hold a 50% stake in the newly formed Ningbo Linde-ZRCC Gases Company Ltd. The agreement will see Linde-ZRCC acquire two existing air separation units from ZRCC and construct a third for a combined 150,000 m3/h of oxygen capacity. The new ASU, expected to be on stream in 2018, will incorporate Linde’s intelligent solutions for remote operation, diagnostics and analytics, as well as a modular design to increase efficiency, reduce energy requirements and enhance flexibility of production.
These three additional ASUs will double Linde production capacity of air gases in the Ningbo cluster and will be connected to Linde’s pipeline supply network across Ningbo.