gasworld directory Sign Up Information

Welcome to the June 2020 edition of gasworld magazine. In many ways our magazine this month is about a journey of breathing new life into old processes or technologies. That's because our theme is air gases and not only is this core business the subject of reinvigorated demand due to the current hot topics of the day, it's also helping to drive the other progressive industries of today.

Take the flourishing gasification sector as an example. As Stephen B. Harrison writes from page 32, gasification is 'a long-established technology with a fascinating future'. From some of its earliest examples at industrial scale in the early 20th century, through to its wider use as 'town gas' or syngas as we might now know it and of course one of the world's largest gasification projects today at the Jazan refinery in Saudi Arabia, the gasification business has had a long and diverse journey - but has arguably never been in such verve.

Other notable drivers for the air gases are the still-growing aquaculture sector, space exploration endeavours, the electronics market and sadly, the significant demand created by the current Covid-19 crisis which has called on such requirements for medical oxygen, cylinders and related equipment. There are also great strides forward being made by the digitisation of assets and operations for the filling and distribution of gases, while arguably one of the biggest and most pertinent areas of innovation is in argon recovery at the ASU - both of which are breathing new life into the air gases business. All of these trends you can read more about via the below features this month. Read all of our insights online, by following the links below or visiting the gasworld website at www.gasworld.com

Our industry has known for years about the potential for hydrogen to positively shape the energy sector, and in many respects has helped to drive this. This journey has been reflected by gasworld through the years and is again in focus this March as we explore the firm acceleration in this changing face of the hydrogen business in 2020. The market for merchant hydrogen as we commonly know it is well understood, so for this hydrogen issue we take a deeper dive into the 'new' market for hydrogen that is so in vogue.

It's arguably now the most exciting, progressive and affirmative time for the notion of the hydrogen economy. Decarbonisation is the word of the day across the world and there's a growing realisation of the key role that hydrogen has to play in this. DNV GL points out in our opening feature this month that the demand for hydrogen has more than tripled since 1975, but this demand has come from the use of hydrogen as industrial feedstock, and not as an energy carrier - for which less than 0.01% of hydrogen produced is currently used.

But this is most definitely changing. The support and momentum for hydrogen as an energy vector is accelerating hard. That has led many to label the 2020s as the decade of the fuel cell, something that E4tech's Dr. David Hart reflects upon in his feature. Our issue this month sets out to reflect all of this. Read about all of the developments and projections, and all of our insights online this month, by following the links below or visiting the gasworld website at www.gasworld.com

When it comes to race day, Wally Brant has been in the same place since 1979. This year, however, the Indiana Oxygen Company (IOC) CEO watched the Indy 500 at home instead of being close to the action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IOC provides gases like nitrogen and welding services to race teams at the Indy 500, but the world's biggest attended sports event was a lot quieter than normal on a rearranged date of August 23. The coronavirus pandemic has meant sports events are currently taking place without fans. Nonetheless, the spotlight is still on the role of the packaged gas business this month, here in this latest cross-section of features from gasworld US Edition.

Read more about IOC and its role in the Indy 500 in our exclusive interview; find out how Norris Cylinder Company has remained fully operational through the global pandemic at its facilities, including Longview, Texas; read about the challenges and opportunities in the North American specialty gas containment industry; and take time out with FIBA Technologies President Jack Finn in another of our exclusive interviews as he discussed moving with the times and repositioning the company for the future. For all our features and many more besides this month, simply click the links below and visit the gasworld website at www.gasworld.com.

Our way of life has been transformed by coronavirus (Covid-19) as we have adopted things like social distancing, obsessive handwashing, wearing face masks/visors and disposable gloves, working from home, Zoom video calls, Microsoft Teams, and curbside pick-up.

The fallout from the coronavirus crisis, as well as how the US industrial gases community has rallied to deliver vital medical oxygen and equipment to the front lines of the nation's efforts to deal with Covid-19, are covered throughout our May issue of gasworld US Edition. We look at how the North American industrial gas industry has responded to the requirements of hospitals and doctors needed to treat coronavirus patents.

How has hard work, courage, ingenuity, generosity, increased production and collaboration helped the cause? And how acute is the threat of a carbon dioxide shortage due to the shutdown of the economy? We try and answer some of these questions in our features this month, as well as looking at how the pandemic may have changed our work patterns for good and so much more beyond! Enjoy the read, and keep safe. For all our features and many more besides this month, simply click the links below and visit the gasworld website at www.gasworld.com.