Air Liquide to spend $350 million to expand Louisiana industrial gas plant.

Air Liquide announced April 22 that it would expand its St. James Parish, Louisiana Koch Methanol factory with an additional Air Separation Unit, spending $350 million to increase production of industrial gasses like methanol.

The $350 million investment comes as Air Liquide recently agreed to supply Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana LLC’s low-carbon steel mill with the necessary gasses—namely oxygen, nitrogen, and argon—for the low-carbon steelmaking process. In a statement, the Paris, France-based company said the project will support long-term, scalable low-carbon-emission steel production starting in 2028.

What people are saying

“This partnership with HPLS reflects Air Liquide’s commitment to supporting industrial decarbonization in the U.S.,” said Matthieu Girard, an Air Liquide Group Executive Committee member in charge of supervising operations in the Americas. “By leveraging our extensive Mississippi River infrastructure and high-efficiency technologies, we are delivering solutions that ensure both superior reliability and the flexibility required for HPLS's pioneering green steel production."

“Air Liquide’s investment sends a clear message — Louisiana is where companies come to grow and compete,” said Gov. Jeff Landry. “They’ve been a strong partner in our state for years, and we’re proud to see them continue to expand and succeed right here. We’re going to keep doing the work to make sure businesses can move quickly, invest with confidence, and create real opportunity for the people of Louisiana.”

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