OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2012. Kuybyshev Azot and The Linde Group have entered exclusive discussions for their cooperation in the Samara region in Russia: the two companies intend to form a new joint venture in Togliatti for the investment, construction and operation of a new industrial gases plant for the long-term and over-the-fence supply of hydrogen and ammonia to Kuybyshev Azot. The project with an estimated investment exceeding EUR 200 million is expected to become one of the largest investments with a foreign partner in Russia.

The plant will be designed for the production of approx. 120,000 Nm3/h hydrogen and 1,340 tonnes per day ammonia. Linde intends to supply the core technology on the basis of an integrated and energy optimized solution to the future joint venture. The project will contribute to the modernization and growth of the chemical activities in the Samara region and will also create new job opportunities for the operation and maintenance of a state-of-the-art production facility.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,500 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2011 financial year, it generated revenue of EUR 13,787 billion. Linde’s Gases Division started activities in Russia in 1994 and today operates several sites in the regions of Moscow, St-Petersburg, Samara and Ekaterinburg with around 700 employees. In Samara Linde Gases since 2006 is a key player for the production and market of air gases including oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The new project with Kuybyshev Azot will allow Linde to significantly increase its presence in the region and develop its on-site activities for the production of hydrogen and associated products.

Kuybyshev Azot is the leader in Russia for the production and market of caprolactam and polyamides and is a key player in nitrogen fertilizers. Kuybyshev Azot has in past ten years continuously invested in the modernization and capacity increase of its major production site in Togliatti. The cooperation with Linde will allow the further modernization and energy optimization of the site at a time when the energy cost in Russia and global competition for chemicals are becoming critical. The project will also support Kuybyshev Azot in increasing its captive production of caprolactam and nitrogen fertilizers which requires additional large volumes of hydrogen and ammonia, as well as in marketing excess ammonia on a cost competitive basis.