Section: CRUNS Industry News

Air Products and Haldor Topsoe have signed a global alliance agreement. Under the terms of the agreement the two companies will use their combined market network for developing potential projects and the combination of their expertise on large-scale ammonia, methanol and/or dimethyl ether (DME) plants to be developed and built globally. It gives Air Products access to Topsoe’s technology licenses and the supply of engineering design, equipment, high-performance catalysts and technical services for ammonia, methanol and DME plants that are built, owned and operated by Air Products. It also allows for the integration of Topsoe’s technology into many Air Products’ technologies including gasification of various feedstocks, and synthesis gas processes.

Tecnimont SpA has signed an EPC contract worth approximately e200 million with Gemlik Gübre Sanayii Anonim Sirketi for the construction of a new urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) solutions plant at Gemlik, 125 km south of Istanbul. The plant will have a capacity of 1,640 t/d of granular urea and 500 t/d of UAN, and will be based on Stamicarbon urea technology, a fully owned subsidiary of the Maire Tecnimont group. The scope of work includes engineering, supply of all equipment and materials and construction and erection works. Project completion is planned within about three years of the contract beginning.

Methanex has said that, in light of the uncertainty in the global economy from the Covid-19 pandemic, it will defer approximately $500 million of previously announced capital spending on its $1.4 billion Geismar 3 methanol project for up to 18 months. Geismar 3, which is intended to eventually produce 1.8 million t/a of methanol, will be placed on temporary “care and maintenance” for up to 18 months, enabling the company to complete the project when market conditions improve. Methanex says it will spend $100 million in Q1 2020 and a further $200 million from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 on the project, the majority of which is spending that occurred or was committed during Q1 2020. This is approximately $500 million lower than the $800 million that was expected to be spent over that same period. Construction activity and procurement of non-critical equipment and bulk materials will be suspended until market conditions allow the Geismar 3 project to restart.

The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has awarded £28 million ($36 million) of government funding to five demonstration projects for low carbon hydrogen production, as part of a larger stimulus package to cut industrial carbon emissions. The projects targeted for funding include:

At the Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2020, held in The Hague, Netherlands, Haldor Topsoe launched its new TITAN ™ series of steam reforming catalysts. The company says that the new series, which consists of the RC-67 TITAN and RK-500 TITAN catalysts, offers improved performance and longer catalyst lifetime thanks to the hibonite-rich composition. The addition of titanium promoters adds exceptional mechanical strength while a seven-hole cylindrical shape yields both a very low pressure drop and a high surface area. Pressure drop build-ups in syngas plants can cause unscheduled downtime and cost millions of dollars, while thermal instability during operation can lead to operational risk and reduce plant lifetime. Topsoe says that the catalysts can mitigate these risks, ensuring lower operating costs, increased profit margins, and reduced energy usage.

Haldor Topsoe and Sasol have announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to jointly license their GTL technologies. For many years, the two companies have worked together on numerous GTL projects and technologies, and Topsoe’s Syn-COR™ syngas generation technology and Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technologies have been licensed for several world-scale GTL ventures. Under the new collaboration agreement, the companies will continue to offer these core technologies, but will now also provide Topsoe’s hydroprocessing and hydrogen technologies. This gives potential customers access to a single-point licensing offering that covers the entire value chain from gas feed to liquid fuels. As single-point licensors, Sasol and Topsoe will offer customers all necessary technology licenses for a complete GTL solution and in addition provide basic engineering, catalysts, and hardware.

Maire Tecnimont and its urea licensing subsidiary Stamicarbon celebrated the 10th anniversary of Tecnimont’s purchase of Stamicarbon from DSM at Limbricht Castle in the Netherlands. The event, attended by Stamicarbon employees and the management of both companies, was an opportunity for the companies to reflect on the past ten years, as well as future developments and opportunities. From Maire Tecnimont’s point of view, it has enabled them to become a leading technology provider for urea production, and strengthened the group’s identity as a major technology licensor and EPC contractor for fertilizer plants. Stamicarbon was able to broaden its value proposition thanks to effective synergies with the group’s sister companies, while leveraging Maire Tecnimont’s network to expand its international footprint.