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France’s Air Liquide to invest 100 mln euro in flagship site of NLMK in Lipetsk

NLMK Group is Russia's largest steel producer

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Air Liquide will invest around 100 mln euro in the production site of Russia’s NLMK in Lipetsk. The French company will construct a state-of-the-art Air Separation Unit and acquire NLMK’s existing hydrogen unit for the steel plant and the unit for rare gases production, Air Liquide said in a statement on Thursday.

"Air Liquide and NLMK have entered into a new long-term partnership. Under the agreement, Air Liquide will invest around 100 million euros in the flagship site of NLMK in Lipetsk, a combination of three projects which include the construction of a state-of-the-art Air Separation Unit (ASU), the acquisition of existing hydrogen unit for the steel plant and of the unit for Rare Gases production," the statement said.

In Lipetsk, Air Liquide will design and build an ASU with a capacity of 34,000 cubic meters of oxygen per hour, as well as a steam turbine and a number of infrastructure facilities, NLMK said. Start-up of the unit will boost the efficiency of NLMK production processes and help reduce costs, thanks to the ASU’s prime energy efficiency performance and gas production technology that does not require additional compressor units. The commissioning of the new equipment is planned for Q2 2023.

"NLMK will sell two hydrogen production stations, a section producing inert gases (neon helium and krypton xenon mixes) and several filling stations to the French company," the Russian steelmaker said.

NLMK Group is Russia's largest steel producer. Its production assets are located in Russia, Europe and the US. The company's liquid steel production capacity exceeds 17 mln tonnes per year.

Air Liquide is a global leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health, being present in 80 countries across the world, including Russia. In 2019, its revenue amounted to 22 bln euro.

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