26 July 2016
DETAILS
Air Liquide has just commissioned
a large helium storage facility in Gronau-Epe
in the North Rhine-Westphalia region,
120 km from Düsseldorf, Germany.
This initiative will allow Air Liquide,
leader of the helium worldwide market
since the Airgas acquisition,
to better answer its customers’ needs
for a reliable and predictable helium supply.
The key challenge in helium supply is
to meet customer on-time requirements,
independently of the reliability of production sources,
by ensuring an optimum transport lead-time
to customers, while avoiding losses due to
helium warm-up which can occur during transport.
Air Liquide’s new storage solution
addresses that challenge, by offering its customers
a service which secures their helium supply.
This new helium storage facility is a world premiere.
Pure helium is stored
at 1,300 meters underground
in significant volume,
in a salt reservoir managed
by Air Liquide, using natural brine
to adjust the storage volume.
The project has been timely executed, notably
thanks to a close cooperation with
the North Rhine - Westphalia Mining Authorities.
Air Liquide owns the right to use the cavity,
operates the facility and is able to store
in Gronau-Epe more than one year
of its helium sourcing.
Helium being an inert, non-inflammable gas present
in very small quantity in the air,
the storage is safe and environmentally neutral.
Air Liquide thus provides a reliable and complete
helium offer, with strategic sources, global logistics
and complete customer installations.
Its helium logistics currently encompasses
one of the largest helium ISO container fleets,
each container transporting helium
at -269°C - close to absolute zero
- with a fully digitalized piloting
by dedicated teams
in the USA, Europe, Middle-East and Asia.
Contact Air Liquide
MEDIA RELATIONS
-
Caroline Philips
+33 (0)1 40 62 50 84
-
Aurélie Wayser Langevin
+33 (0)1 40 62 56 19
-
Caroline Brugier
+33 (0)1 40 62 50 59
INVESTOR RELATIONS
-
Aude Rodriguez
+33 (0)1 40 62 57 08
-
Erin Sarret
+33 (0)1 40 62 57 37
-
Louis Laffont
+33 (0)1 40 62 57 18
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