Long-term contract signed with gas supplier Air Liquide

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and Air Liquide have agreed a long-term gas supply contract. Deliveries under the agreement include 4,600 metric tons per day of oxygen, nitrogen and argon, which will be supplied to the Duisburg site by pipeline and used among other things for air enrichment in the blast furnaces. The use of these gases helps to improve the productivity and energy performance of the facilities whilst reducing atmospheric emissions. Dr. Herbert Eichelkraut, Member of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG, said: “Our high quality standards as well as our large-scale production facilities imply enormous challenges for industrial gas suppliers. Therefore, we have chosen Air Liquide and its production network as one of our strategic partners.”

The gases will be supplied via a 500 kilometer pipeline network, which already serves companies in the steel, chemical and petrochemical industries in the Rhine-Ruhr area. A pipeline gas supply operated 24 hours a day throughout the year is efficient and reliable. The Air Liquide group operates more than 9,000 kilometers of gas pipelines all over the world. Guy Salzgeber, Vice-President, Western Europe and member of Air Liquide’s Executive Committee, commented: “This new contract marks a further step in our longstanding cooperative relationship with ThyssenKrupp. This milestone illustrates our strategy of expanding in industrial basins and our ability to capitalize on our existing assets to gain new markets.”

The Steel Europe business area is focused on the attractive market for premium carbon steel flat products. It employs around 27,000 people and generated sales of almost €9.6 billion in fiscal 2012/2013. Its capabilities range from intelligent material solutions and product-specific processing to comprehensive service. It serves a broad spectrum of steel-using sectors, including the automotive, shipbuilding, engineering, energy, construction, packaging and appliance industries.