Uhde and its subsidiary, Uhde Corp. of America in Bridgeville, Pa., signed a global hydrogen alliance agreement in December 2009 with Praxair, which is headquartered in Tonawanda, N.Y. The arrangement effectively covers the areas of steam reformer-based hydrogen plants and over-the-fence hydrogen supply.
The hydrogen produced by these plants will be used in nearby refineries that manufacture low-sulphur fuels.
Uhde combines its technological capabilities in steam reforming and hydrogen production and its worldwide engineering and construction resources, with Praxair’s global technology, engineering, construction, and operations capabilities. The companies will also work together to advance the technology to address the refining industry’s future needs and challenges.
Under this new alliance, Uhde’s Indian subsidiary, Uhde India Private Ltd., and Praxair’s Indian subsidiary, Praxair India Private Ltd., have already begun constructing a hydrogen facility that will be operated by Praxair in Paradip in the state of Orissa.
This facility will utilize Uhde’s steam-reformer technology to supply approximately 100,000 Nm3/h of hydrogen, using liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha as a feedstock. Praxair India will supply the produced hydrogen to Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.’s new 300,000 barrels-per-day refinery currently under construction.
The facility is scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2012.
Uhde India’s contract covers the turnkey supply of the entire hydrogen plant. The license, technology, fundamental supplies, and monitoring services will be provided by Uhde, the parent company.
Uhde has more than 4500 employees worldwide and is a company in the Plant Technology business area of the ThyssenKrupp Group. The company's activities focus on the engineering and construction of chemical and other industrial plants in the following fields: fertilizers; electrolysis; gas technologies; oil, coal, and residue gasification; refining technologies; organic intermediates, polymers, and synthetic fibers; and coke plant and high-pressure technologies.
Uhde India Private Ltd. is an Indian EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) company committed to providing the entire range of services involved in the conceptualization, design, construction, and commissioning of plants for the chemical, petrochemical, fertilizer, refinery, metallurgical, and pharmaceutical industries in India and abroad.
Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2009 sales of $9 billion. Its products, services, and technologies are used in a variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and metals. The company is a leading supplier of hydrogen globally, operating 34 steam-methane reformers and seven hydrogen pipeline systems around the world. The company's 310-mile hydrogen pipeline along the U.S. Gulf Coast, incorporating the industry's only hydrogen storage cavern, is one of the world's largest hydrogen-supply complexes.
Praxair India Private Ltd., with headquarters in Bangalore, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. that started operations in 1996. Since then, it has emerged as India's largest industrial gas supplier.