Air Liquide has signed a long-term contract to supply Kumho Mitsui Chemical (KMCI), a world leader in the chemical industry, with additional hydrogen and carbon monoxide in South Korea’s Yeosu National Industrial Complex, where Air Liquide operates four production units.

This contract will enable Air Liquide to support KMCI’s additional expansion of 200,000 tons per year production of methyl diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). This isomer is used in the manufacture of polyurethane for high-tech materials and insulation.

Air Liquide will supply additional hydrogen and carbon monoxide to KMCI for its 50% expansion of methyl diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production with operations commencing in 2024. To supply KMCI, Air Liquide will leverage its fourth hydrogen and carbon monoxide unit in the Yeosu complex. This latter is coupled to a CO2 recycling facility installed this year.

With this new partnership, both Groups reinforce their long standing relationship. Air Liquide’s first agreement with KMCI was signed 20 years ago in Yeosu. Since then, Air Liquide has significantly developed its industrial footprint in the Yeosu basin, culminating in the design and construction of a fourth state-of-the-art, highly efficient hydrogen and carbon monoxide plant. This unit is integrated with the three other plants with a 40 km pipeline supply network in Yeosu to ensure the highest level of safety, reliability, efficiency, and flexibility to its customers.

François Abrial, Member of the Air Liquide Group’s Executive Committee supervising Asia Pacific, said: “With this new contract, we are honored to extend our long-term relationship with KMCI, a 20-year strategic collaboration that has enabled us to steadily build our footprint in Yeosu, a major industrial complex in South Korea, to accompany KMCI’s continued growth.”