In partnership with PBF subsidiary Delaware City Refining Company, Linde, a leading gases and engineering company, and PBF Energy, one of the largest independent refiners in North America, jointly announced construction has started on a new hydrogen plant that is being built in Delaware City, Delaware.

As part of this initiative, Linde will design, build, own and operate the hydrogen plant, which is targeted for start-up during the second quarter of 2020.

According to company officials, investments by Linde and DCRC in this project, which include a 25 million standard cubic feet per day hydrogen plant and supporting infrastructure, are expected to exceed U.S. $100 million.

"Our partnership with Linde has allowed us to progress this attractive project, which will make our Delaware City Refinery even more competitive," added Tom Nimbley, PBF Energy's Chairman & CEO. "The refinery already features complex crude processing flexibility, and the new hydrogen plant will expand our ability to convert our heavy feedstock slate into cleaner, higher-value products, including marine fuels that meet new global, ultra-low sulfur standards established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that go into effect in 2020."

Dr. Raghu Menon, Vice President of Onsite Investment Projects for Linde Americas, said, "Linde is committed to development and delivery of exceptional value for our customers. Linde customized our solution to meet PBF's and DCRC's criteria, including critical parameters such as plant efficiency, project schedule and environmental performance. Our plant will include a Steam Methane Reformer with a proprietary Linde design and a Selective-Catalytic Reduction process unit that will reduce plant emissions and deliver excellent environmental performance."