Report
Powering Change: Why industrial gas companies must speed up their transition to renewables
Industrial gas companies are not household names. But Linde, Air Liquide, and Air Products – who manufacture oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen for use in the health care, tech, and industrial sectors – are some of the world’s biggest corporate electricity consumers. The largest industrial gas company, Linde, consumes more electricity per year than Amazon, Google, or Microsoft. Combined, the top three industrial gas companies have an annual electricity consumption the size of Belgium’s.
Today, industrial gas companies’ energy use comes primarily from fossil fuels, resulting in high levels of emissions. To align with the goals of the Paris Agreement, companies must rapidly transition away from fossil fuel-based energy in their operations. But Linde, Air Liquide, and Air Products lack credible, ambitious strategies to increase their use of renewable energy, leaving them exposed to fossil fuel price volatility and the prospect of rising carbon prices in key markets, such as the EU and China.
According to Ember, a global energy thinktank, renewable energy accounted for 32% of global electricity generation in 2024, and is seeing record levels of growth around the world. Industrial gas companies must prepare for a future dominated by wind and solar. And investors can play a critical role advocating for Linde, Air Liquide, and Air Products to accelerate their transition to renewable energy.
Our report Powering Change: Why industrial gas companies must speed up their transition to renewables sets out the steps industrial gas companies need to take to address emissions from procured energy and recommends a set of standards for investors to use in their engagement with these companies. We recommend investors engage with industrial gas companies to:
- Set targets to electrify all air separation units by 2030;
- Set near- and long-term round-the-clock renewable energy targets, aiming to triple renewable energy by 2030 and reach 100 per cent renewable energy in the long term;
- Procure all renewable energy on the same grid as consumption;
- Adopt strict additionality criteria for renewable energy procurement; and
- Invest in energy storage and electricity demand flexibility.