Together with its customers, Air Liquide's Large Industries business line invents cleaner manufacturing solutions for a carbon neutral future. As responsible citizens of the industry, we aim to create a better world. A trusted and committed partner, we're delivering value and we serve our customers with unmatched innovative, reliable and low carbon solutions.
Committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050
A close relationship with our customers, based on long-term contracts
Improving processes efficiency with a reduced environmental impact
The Large Industries business line supplies gas and energy solutions to customers in the metals, chemicals, refining and energy industries, which are essential for their own core businesses, to improve process efficiency and to make their plants more environmentally friendly.
Through its plants and its extensive pipeline network, Air Liquide provides oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and carbon monoxide in large quantities. The Group also operates cogeneration plants to supply customers with steam and electricity.
Responsible
We’re an active participant in the conversation on environmental and societal changes. We are working closely with our customers to develop innovative solutions to significantly decrease greenhouse gases intensity and to meet the societal expectations and demands of the industry.
Partnering
Collaborating is the way forward. We strive to find the answers and solutions that the customers and society of tomorrow seek. Having strong partners matters for Large Industries, particularly notably as regards hydrogen mobility teams.
Innovating
Large Industries is creative at its heart, moving the industry forward for over seven decades, evolving through innovative solutions to the industrial challenges of the day. Innovation is in the DNA of the Large Industries and its roots are deeply integrated within Air Liquide's innovation campuses, notably the one of Frankfurt that includes the Lurgi legacy.
5,800employees
35+countries
450large global customers
9,700+ kmof pipelines
Meeting the needs of our customers
Chemicals
The chemicals industry uses mainly oxygen, hydrogen and carbon monoxide in its manufacturing processes, as well as nitrogen to inert its installations.
Oil & Gas
The refining industry requires hydrogen to desulfurize fuels and crack heavy hydrocarbons. The demand for hydrogen is growing steadily due to more stringent legislation aimed at reducing emissions and the use of increasingly heavier hydrocarbons in fuel production.
Metallurgy
In the metals industry, Air Liquide supplies large volumes of oxygen to steel producers notably, the use of which improves their energy performance and significantly reduces their CO2 emissions. In steelmaking, the injection of hydrogen at large scale to partially replace pulverized coal in blast furnaces reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
Strong engineering capacities
Air Liquide benefits from dedicated in-house development and engineering teams (through Air Liquide Engineering & Construction), differentiating proprietary technologies and rigorous processes for selecting investments and carrying out projects. The biggest Large Industries customers are looked after by key account managers who have in-depth knowledge of customers’ businesses, as well as of their projects, industrial processes and global structure. This allows Air Liquide to maintain close contact with its customers, thus improving the Group’s responsiveness and competitiveness in terms of meeting their needs.
Discover our main industrial processes
Air separation
An Air Separation Unit (ASU) compresses, liquefies and distills air in order to separate it into its different components: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon and noble gases (neon, krypton and xenon). Only certain large ASUs can produce rare gases.
Steam methane reforming
Hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be produced through a Steam Methane Reformer (SMR) that uses natural gas as a raw material.
Hydrogen production through electrolysis
Hydrogen production through electrolysis is based on the dissociation of water molecules (H2O) using electricity, to extract hydrogen and oxygen molecules. This process produces hydrogen without using or emitting carbon-based molecules. It can be used to produce carbon-free hydrogen for industry and mobility, as well as for electricity storage.
Cogeneration
Cogeneration consists of simultaneously and efficiently producing electricity and steam generally by consuming natural gas and water. The electricity is used by the plant or supplied to the local network, while the steam is required for certain industrial processes.
Carbon capture
Air Liquide’s portfolio of technologies also includes separation and gas capture technologies. Based on cryogenic distillation, separation membranes and amine-based processing, these technologies (such as Cryocap™) are used to capture the carbon dioxide generated by Air Liquide’s industrial processes and those of its customers.
