Air Products and Linde form hydrogen chloride JV, will build US plant

12 January 2011 17:20  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS)--Air Products and Linde Gas North America have formed a joint venture to supply high-purity anhydrous hydrogen chloride to the electronics and other industries, the industrial gases firms said on Wednesday.

Air Products and Linde said their 50:50 Hydrochlor joint venture would build a facility at Freeport, Texas, to process and package hydrogen chloride supplied via pipeline from Dow Chemical, with expected start-up in the second quarter of 2012.

Hydrochlor would sell hydrogen chloride exclusively to the joint venture partners, which would continue to market the product independently.

Until the new Texas facility's start-up, Dow would continue to supply hydrogen chloride independently to Air Products at its facility in Hometown, Pennsylvania, and to Linde at its site in Lovington, New Mexico, the companies said.

Cliff Caldwell, vice-president of electronics and specialty gases for Linde North America, said the new plant would address concerns about the continuity of supply for high-purity hydrogen chloride into the merchant market.

“When completed, the Freeport facility will be the largest [hydrogen chloride] production plant in the [US] and will allow Linde to continue supplying critical high-purity [hydrogen chloride] to its US and international customers," Caldwell added.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

For more on Air Products, Linde, Dow Chemical and other producers visit ICIS company intelligence

By: Stefan Baumgarten
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