Inoxcva, which had last month launched the first indigenously developed LNG dispensers, has entered into a tie-up with the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co to expand its LNG distribution business through tankers. The Vadodara-based firm expects to meet the growing demand of the green fuel with this tie-up under which it seeks to collaborate technologically and commercially to establish a virtual pipeline for LNG distribution.
The agreement also entails deploying small-scale LNG infrastructure, including supply logistics and receiving facilities at customer-ends who are not connected to the pipelines, Inoxcva’s LNG business head Vijay Kalaria told. This will help in increasing the penetration and consumption of LNG that is cleaner, more reliable and more cost-efficient, to various users in the automotive, mining, shipping and railways, he said.
It can be noted that Inoxcva last month developed the country’s first LNG dispenser which is priced around USD 60,000 a unit. When asked about this, Kalaria said they have already sold 10 units to a private sector LNG distributor and have orders for 25 more units.
Kalaria said Inoxcva also manufactures LNG trucks with 18 million tonnage (maximum permissible load) and runs a fleet of 17 such tankers. These tankers are made at their Kalol and Kandla, Gujarat plants. The company exports almost 60% of the LNG tanker production as the domestic market is yet to mature. Partnership with Mitsui will enhance small-scale LNG applications development and provide impetus to gas-based economy, he said.
Inoxcva is one of the largest cryogenic liquid storage, distribution and re-gas solutions providers in the country with around Rs 600 crore in sales revenue.
Kaoru Umehara of Mitsui said together they will carry out technical, economic and environmental evaluations for supplying LNG to prospective customers and industrial clusters. “Our combined expertise will synergise well to bring the benefits of LNG at regional and national levels, and create a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.”
Inoxcva is the market leader in the small-scale LNG applications segment and since commissioning its first small scale LNG installation at the Halol plant of General Motors in 2010, it has successfully installed over 35 such facilities.
It also has plants in Brazil and Europe and has an extensive user base, spread across more than 100 countries. Inoxcva has three operational units industrial gases division which also supplies oxygen for medical purposes, cryo-scientific division that primarily serves the ISRO and its clients, and the LNG division.
Inoxcva is one of the largest manufacturers of cryogenic storage, re-gas and distribution systems for LNG, industrial gases and cryo-scientific applications with operations in India, Brazil and Europe. The company has three manufacturing units Kalol, Kandla and Silvassa in Gujarat.
