Industrial gas distributor Airgas will bolster its central Tennessee operations in order to supply oxygen to a nearby electric vehicle battery plant, company officials announced.
The industrial gas distributor’s parent company, Air Liquide, said last month that it will spend some $150 million to add a second air separation unit at the Airgas facility in Clarksville, along with liquefier, storage and a pipeline.
The project will help fulfill the company’s new contract with LG Chem to supply the latter’s forthcoming EV battery plant in Clarksville. Officials said it would also bolster Airgas’ regional footprint and help develop its industrial merchant segment; the Clarksville plant will produce oxygen, nitrogen and argon for a range of additional industries, as well, including water treatment, food production, and healthcare and pharmaceutical production.
The expansion is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027. Airgas officials said that the project would increase its Clarksville workforce, but did not indicate by how much.
“Airgas is energized by this planned expansion in a key market and collaboration with LG Chem to support expansion of the battery ecosystem in the United States,” Airgas CEO Marcelo Fioranelli said in the October announcement. “We look forward to working closely with the Clarksville community to support new opportunities and growth for many years to come.”
Airgas ranked no. 3 on ID’s 2024 Big 50 list.