Named after liquefied air, many people are a little confused when they first hear the name of Air Liquide (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Air Liquide China"): What is this company? In fact, this is an enterprise closely related to industry and medical health industry.
Air Liquide Group, headquartered in Paris, France, was founded in 1902. Its main business is gas, technology and services in the industrial and health fields. Air Liquide Group has been in China for more than 30 years. In 1989, Air Liquide Group became one of the first multinationals to obtain a wholly foreign-owned business license in China. In 2004, Air Liquide China was established in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and became its headquarters in China. At present, Air Liquide China has invested and built nearly 120 factories in more than 40 cities in China.
Talking about why we set our headquarters in Pudong, Bai Haotian, President and CEO of Air Liquide China, said: "As a symbol of China's reform and opening up and a microcosm of Shanghai's modernization drive, Pudong has constantly improved its scientific and technological innovation capabilities and vigorously improved its business environment to become an international level economic circle. Last year, Pudong sounded the call to build a leading area for socialist modernization, which inspired us and strengthened our confidence and determination to take root in Pudong and further increase investment in Shanghai."
Deeply integrated development with Pudong
Bai Haotian said that since the establishment of Air Liquide China in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, it has received strong support from competent authorities at all levels in Pudong. "In terms of talent introduction, financial support, enterprise rescue, and encouragement of innovation, Pudong understands the difficulties and demands of enterprises through enterprise visits and research, policy presentations and enterprise forums organized in various forms and channels, and provides comprehensive and multi-level accurate services for liquefied air, so that we can always feel the service temperature of Pudong."
The second year after the establishment of Air Liquide China, it was approved as the headquarters of foreign-funded enterprises. After being approved, Air Liquide China has achieved more comprehensive development, including talent, financial and technological innovation. Bai Haotian introduced that Air Liquide currently has about 4500 employees in China, including about 20 foreign employees. Because of being in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Air Liquide China successfully established a free trade zone version of the RMB cross-border two-way capital pool in September 2015 by virtue of various pilot policies in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, realizing the cross-border two-way flow of RMB, which enabled Air Liquide Group to effectively reduce operating and financing costs, achieve centralized capital control, and further improve the overall credit rating of the Group.
The development of Air Liquide in China is also closely linked to the development of Pudong. According to Bai Haotian, the company has always paid attention to the development of Pudong's big science and cutting-edge industries, and has provided six sets of world leading helium refrigerators for Shanghai Light Source and Free Electron Laser projects, which are the largest cryogenic systems in China at this stage and the top three internationally.
In addition, Air Liquide China has also introduced Air Liquide Group's advanced turbine Brayton technology, which has been applied to domestic LNG bunkering ships. Two of them are made by Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, which is currently the world's largest natural gas bunkering ships, and can help reduce the volatilization and CO2 emissions of 24 tons of LNG every day.
At present, Zhangjiang is making steady progress in building a comprehensive national science center. Relying on Zhangjiang Demonstration Zone's strong innovation strategy capability and innovation ecosystem, Air Liquide China also conducts exchanges and seeks cooperation opportunities in basic fields such as large scientific devices and nuclear fusion, as well as in advanced and key technology fields such as aerospace, cryogenic technology, biological sample storage and gene banking, and energy shipping.
In addition, the company also focuses on energy transformation, sewage treatment, sustainable agriculture, digitization and other hot areas for continuous research and development. It is understood that at present, Air Liquide China Shanghai Innovation Park has established cooperative relations with more than ten domestic universities and research institutions, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai University, Tongji University, and carried out in-depth cooperation in related cutting-edge science and technology fields.
We will vigorously develop the low hydrocarbon supply chain
Now, Air Liquide is still increasing its investment in Shanghai. In 2021, its subsidiary, Shanghai Chemical Industrial Zone Industrial Gas Co., Ltd., will invest an additional 2 billion yuan to build an advanced synthesis gas production unit. On the basis of ensuring the gas demand of major customers, the rich hydrogen production will lead the chemical industry into a new path of low-carbon and sustainable development as a reliable and high-quality low-carbon hydrogen energy resource. The project is listed as a major preparatory project for construction in Shanghai. The company also installed a carbon capture device on an existing syngas unit, which can help the park reduce direct carbon emissions by 40000 tons every year. In the same year, Air Liquide China also announced to invest in the construction of an advanced materials center in Shanghai to help the electronic information industry accelerate independent innovation.
"The company attaches great importance to digital development, improves energy efficiency and accelerates its own decarburization. As early as 2017, the" Digital Operation Center "of Air Liquide Greater China has settled in Shanghai, radiating all large factories, aiming to improve the system management level of large factories and improve energy efficiency based on digital and intelligent control technology." Bai Haotian said.
In the latest strategic plan of the Group to 2025 released by Air Liquide at the beginning of 2022, the importance of hydrogen energy was again emphasized. Air Liquide believes that hydrogen will play a decisive role in the global low-carbon development in the future, so it proposes to invest about 8 billion euros in the low hydrocarbon supply chain to help the development of low hydrocarbon ecosystems in the fields of industry and clean transportation.
In March this year, Air Liquide China signed an investment agreement with Shanghai Shenneng and Shanghai Chemical Industry Park to jointly build the largest hydrogen filling center in Shanghai, provide clean hydrogen for hydrogen energy development in the Yangtze River Delta region, and improve the energy level and core competitiveness of Shanghai.
"In the context of the dual carbon goals, China has accelerated the pace of energy transformation and industrial upgrading, which coincides with the global strategy of Air Liquide." Bai Haotian said that the company actively responds to the energy transformation under the domestic dual carbon goal, improves energy efficiency, practices low-carbon clean production and reduces carbon emissions. Bai Haotian introduced that during the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" period, Air Liquide China will continue to increase investment and innovation investment in hydrogen energy, electronics, sustainable development agriculture, scientific innovation and other fields, and plans to invest 4 billion yuan in the next five years to jointly invest and operate multiple organic waste recycling projects with domestic partners.
