Thanks to close collaboration between the Gases and Engineering Divisions, Linde has already achieved several important milestones towards this aim in the space of the last few years. Founded in 2004, our wholly owned subsidiary Linde Gas Ningbo agreed its first contract with Ningbo Steel that same year. This covered construction of two on-site air separation facilities with a total oxygen capacity of 42,000 standard cubic metres per hour (scm/h) and 40,000 scm/h nitrogen, assuring a long-term supply for the company’s steel plant. A supply agreement with Formosa Plastics Group followed in 2005, for its production facilities in Beilun. In 2006, Linde began construction work on a pipeline connecting Zhenhai and Beilun to exclusively supply Zhenhai’s chemical park with industrial gases.

In October 2007, we concluded a supply contract with Ningbo Wanhua Polyurethane
(Glossary). This covers provision of oxygen and nitrogen to the chemical company’s major Ningbo plants for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (Glossary) (MDI) production. It involves construction of two air separation plants by our Engineering Division, each with a capacity of 40,000 scm/h, as well as a 30-kilometre pipeline between the Beilun and Daxie industrial parks. Wanhua is the only Chinese chemical company possessing the technical expertise to produce MDI – an intermediate product used to manufacture polyurethane.

The collaboration between Linde and Wanhua entails an outlay of around EUR 92m – Linde’s largest single investment in China to date.

In addition to Wanhua, the new air separation plants will also supply gases to Ningbo Steel and produce 16,000 scm/h liquid nitrogen and oxygen plus noble gases krypton and xenon for the open market.

Integrated network

Linde was awarded its latest Ningbo contract in October 2008, again by Ningbo Steel, for construction of a third on-site air separation facility. This will supply the expanded steel plant in Beilun’s industrial park, delivering an additional 21,000 scm per hour from end-2009.

We also concluded a supply agreement with Korean Hanwha Chemical Corporation (HCC) this reporting year. This petrochemical company is constructing an new world-scale PVC production plant on Daxie Island, scheduled to start in 2010. In the initial phase, Linde will then supply the plant with up to 8,250 scm of oxygen and 2,000 scm of nitrogen per hour. We will pipe these gases from the two air separation facilities we are currently building on the Daxie site of our customer Ningbo Wanhua Polyurethane.

From 2010 onwards, Linde will therefore be operating five air separation plants in Ningbo. In addition, we plan to construct a facility for purifying noble gases krypton and xenon by the same year – the first of its kind for Linde Gas in China.

These new projects will build up a wide-ranging network between industrial companies in Ningbo by 2010. HCC will obtain its raw material for PVC production from Wanhua, for instance, which manufactures MDI there. And Linde Gas Ningbo will supply both companies with the necessary gases from the air separation plants for Ningbo Steel and Wanhua.

An extended pipeline network will also play a role in fostering close collaboration between gas supplier and customers. Alongside the 30-kilometre pipeline between Beilun and Daxie, we are planning to connect Beilun and the Zhenhai chemical park. This new oxygen pipeline will be around 42 kilometres in length and is scheduled for completion by 2010, ready to supply further new customers.

With these strategic investments throughout the Ningbo cluster, The Linde Group is securing its position as leading gas supplier in a booming market.