Corporate News

Essential Business

Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group as an Essential Business

As an essential business in the clean energy and industrial gases industries, we provide equipment for many sectors. Our equipment is used in almost any industry you can think of – technology, food, aviation and medical. As such, we have committed to keep our facilities open. Our sites around the world remain open to support our customers. Clean Energy Cryogenic equipment plays an essential part in the clean energy industry. Liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas not only reduce emissions, but reduce fuel costs, which is especially important with the current economic challenges. Nikkiso Cryoquip’s vaporizers are integral in the fuel supply for remote power generation and regasification for temporary gas pipeline supply in the event of emergency or temporary service. Nikkiso ACD’s pumps play a vital part in transferring fuel for gas engine systems, bulk transfer, off­loading and bunkering to ships. They are also instrumental in fueling locomotives, buses, trucks and cars. Nikkiso Cosmodyne’s natural gas liquefiers provide a clean stream of natural gas. Their LINEX plants are designed for high horsepower users in the rail, marine and trucking industries. Nikkiso Cosmodyne air separation plants produce liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, for all industrial sectors, including medical applications.

Services we are providing:

  • Increased on-hand inventory of specific components to support our oxygen and medical oxygen pump models
  • Increased exchange inventory of oxygen distribution pumps to support the changeover of trailers from inert service to LOX service
  • Manufacturing and Service Centers are in full production and operational to support our customer’s needs
  • Live witness testing viewing via remote site monitor, allowing customer to see live screen shots of test performance and test stand parameters

OXYGEN Supply and COVID-19

Oxygen is essential to human life. The air people breathe is about 21 % oxygen, but more highly concentrated, pressurized oxygen is a commodity, especially in medicine.

The health care/medical industry is the largest consumer of liquid Oxygen (over one-third of total consumption). Hospital patients normally require oxygen for stabilization, but for those who suffer with chronic or acute medical conditions, such as the current COVID-19 virus, even more is required.

Many patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infections, even those not sick enough to be placed on a mechanical ventilator require supplemental oxygen. The dramatic recent increase in hospitals’ use of ventilators and in particular CPAP machines, which dispense ventilation through a face mask, has brought with it risks of a sudden and potentially very serious oxygen shortage.

Some hospitals are reaching what they call a “critical safety concern” which could have major consequences for all patients relying on oxygen to stay alive. A sudden increase in patients receiving support with their breathing because of coronavirus, risks a hospital’s oxygen supply failing altogether, which could cut off the supply to all those needing it to help them fight the infection in their lungs.

Every unit of our company plays a vital part in the medical supply chain. From:

  • producing oxygen via our air separation units (Nikkiso Cosmodyne / Nikkiso Cryoquip)
  • then liquefying it (Nikkiso Cosmodyne / Nikkiso Cryoquip),
  • pumping it into trucks (Nikkiso ACD),
  • and bringing the liquid back to gas by one of our vaporizers (Nikkiso Cryoquip).

Only then can the oxygen gas be delivered for use by patients. Nikkiso Cryoquip vaporizers were an integral part of supplying oxygen to a makeshift hospital upgrade project in the UK. The hospital was running out of oxygen, so Nikkiso Cryoquip and other manufacturers stepped up. A project which would normally take 6 weeks, was done in less than a week. The hospital will now have an additional 3,000 liters per minute of oxygen, and Nikkiso Cryoquip vaporizers increased the heat transfer area from 52m2 to 195m2.

Nikkiso Cryoquip vaporizers were installed giving extra oxygen capacity for a hospital in the UK.

In Spain, Nikkiso Cryoquip vaporizers contributed to the transformation of the Madrid Congress Center (IFEMA) into the largest field hospital in the country, accommodating 5,500 COVID-19 patients. Nearly 100 collaborators contributed to it, installing in particular more than 15,000 meters of pipeline networks, oxygen tanks, cylinders and ventilators for patients with respiratory distress. This project was set-up in 4 days to relieve the other hospitals in Madrid.

Nikkiso Cryoquip vaporizer at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which was turned into a temporary hospital in Queens, New York.