(AOF) – Air Liquide announces the continued development of its biomethane activities with the construction in the United States of its largest biomethane production unit in the world. The group’s global biomethane production capacity will thus reach 1.8 TWh. This new production unit in the State of Illinois will enable Air Liquide to continue to offer low-carbon solutions to its customers in industry and transport to support them in reducing their emissions.
Located in Rockford, Illinois, the new production unit will produce biomethane from biogas from a solid waste treatment site owned and operated by Waste Connections Inc. Its production capacity will be 380 GWh per year , which represents the largest production capacity per unit for the Group. It will be operational by the end of 2023.
Another landfill biomethane production unit is also being built in Delavan, Wisconsin and will be operational by early Q2 2022.
“Thanks to these two new units, Air Liquide is becoming a significant player in the production of biomethane in the United States to support its customers in the transport and industry sectors in the United States and Canada”, underlines the gas specialist. for industry and health.
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=/ Key points /=
– Second in the world behind Linde-Praxair in industrial and medical gases, born in 1902;
– Sale of €20.5 billion structured in 3 branches: gas and industrial services for 96%, engineering and construction (less than 3%) then GMT or global markets and technologies;
– Balance of revenues by geographical area – Americas for 38%, Europe for 33%, Asia-Pacific for 22%;
– Economic model based on multi-year contracts (1/3 of revenue generated by twenty-year contracts) and long-term industrial partnerships offering good visibility of future results and an operating margin of more than 20%;
– Open capital, with 33% individual shareholders and 2.5% for employees, Benoît Poitier being Chairman and CEO of the 13-member Board of Directors;
– Healthy balance sheet, with net debt rated A, reduced to €10.6 billion, or 58.5% of shareholders’ equity.
=/ Issues /=
– After the execution of the “NEOS-2020” strategy, reaffirmation of a target return on capital employed of +10% in 2023 then 2024;
– Innovation strategy led by the dedicated IDD department, financed to the tune of €300 million, 1/3 of which for ecological transition, aiming for operational excellence, openness to technologies in core businesses or breakthrough technologies, through :
– global network of 5 innovation campuses, with 300 academic, industrial or start-up innovation partnerships,
– dedicated laboratories: Digital factory for data expertise, Alizent for IoT, m-Lab for molecules, i-Lab for deciphering trends, etc.
– ALIAD venture capital fund, in alliance with the Chinese fund CSE,
– deployment of Turbo-Brayton technology for LNG carriers,
– deployment of the IBO program to digitalize the supply of liquid gases;
– Environmental strategy revised in March aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050 with 2 intermediate objectives, 2025 (start of absolute reduction in emissions) and 2035 (33% decline compared to 2015), through:
– CO2 capture, production of hydrogen by electrolysis and use of biomethane,
– tripling of hydrogen sales to €6 billion, after €3 billion in 2030,
– partnership with Rothschild & CO and Solar Impulse in a fund endowed with €200 million to support SMEs offering solutions for the environment;
– Acceleration of projects around hydrogen for mobility and storage of renewable energies;
– Industrial investment decisions of more than €3 billion, nearly half of which related to the energy transition.
=/ Challenges /=
– Sensitivity to the €/$ parity and to oil prices;
– Impact of the pandemic: increase in sales of 8% and 1&% for net profit in 1
er
semester ;
– 2021 objective of an increase in operating margin and recurring net income;
– Dividend 2020 at €2.75.