Air Liquide acquires ENN Clean Energy UK

French industrial gas manufacturer Air Liquide has completed its acquisition of ENN Clean Energy UK, subsidiary of China’s largest privately-owned energy company ENN Group.

Air Liquide did not disclose the value of the transaction.

ENN Clean Energy's natural gas stations in Wellingborough, Portbury, and Huntingdon in the United Kingdom, will now become part of Air Liquide's European network of more than 60 bio-NGV (natural gas for vehicles) stations, according to Air Liquide.

Elsewhere, Air Liquide's project to trial a fleet of 86 gas-powered trucks and use blueeze, the company's liquid nitrogen solution, on five trucks fitted with a cryogenic refrigerating units has been chosen to be part of a £20 million (€23m) government programme to deploy zero emission vehicles in the UK.

In a statement, Air Liquide said: “This acquisition marks an additional step in Air Liquide’s development of transportation solutions that reduce CO₂ emissions from well-to-wheel in the UK. Thanks to its biogas purification units, the group is already present in the field of biomethane production for natural gas grids, dedicated to heat needs and low carbon fuels for freight and logistics companies and bus operators.

“As clean and renewable energy, biomethane enables to cut both particles and CO₂ emissions up to 70% and noise up to 40% in comparison with diesel. Biomethane is an alternative to fossil fuels in addressing the challenge posed by clean transportation and also helps to improve air quality. “