Linde De-captivates Air Separation Unit and Extends Agreement with China South Steel, Member of China Baowu Steel Group

Woking, UK, April 23, 2024 – Linde (Nasdaq: LIN) announced today it has signed two agreements with China South Steel, a member of the China Baowu Steel Group Corporation, one of the world's largest steel enterprises.

Linde has signed an agreement to de-captivate an air separation unit (ASU) at China South Steel’s plant in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province. Linde already owns and operates five on-site ASUs to supply industrial gases to China South Steel in Shaoguan and will now de-captivate and upgrade a sixth. The agreement brings Linde’s total on-site production capacity in Shaoguan to approximately 130,000 cubic meters per hour.

In addition to the de-captivation, Linde has extended its long-term agreement with China South Steel for the supply of industrial gases at Shaoguan. Linde’s industrial gases complex also meets demand from Linde’s local merchant customers.

“Linde’s track record of operational excellence over the past 25 years makes it an ideal partner for the safe, efficient and reliable supply of essential industrial gases to our steel production site,” said Mr. Lai Xiaomin, Member of the Party Standing Committee of Baowu Group Zhongnan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd, and President of Guangdong Zhongnan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. “These agreements support our transformation program by securing supply while optimizing our structure.”

“Linde’s gases play an important role in steel manufacturing, helping to make our customers more efficient and productive. We are proud to deepen our existing long-standing relationship between Linde and China South Steel,” said Will Li, President Greater China, Linde. “This high-quality investment meets our strict investment criteria, secures future growth and enhances Linde’s network density in one of China's largest regional economies.”

About Linde

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2023 sales of $33 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonize and protect our planet.

The company serves a variety of end markets such as chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications including production of clean hydrogen and carbon capture systems critical to the energy transition, life-saving medical oxygen and high-purity & specialty gases for electronics. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

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