Munich, 4 February 2008 - The technology group The Linde Group hassigned a contract with BASF to construct a large hydrogen plant fortheir facility in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Linde will be handling thebasic and detail engineering and materials procurement for thisproject as well as installation and commissioning. The turn-keyhydrogen plant is scheduled to go into operation in mid-September2009.

"This project once again demonstrates our outstanding expertise andcompetitiveness in the area of hydrogen technology," said Dr. AldoBelloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG.

The efficient application of Linde process technologies results in anoptimisation of operating costs. In addition, the plant significantlyfalls below many limits set by environmental protection regulations.

Linde already has built oxygen and ethylene production plants at theLudwigshafen facility, but this is the first hydrogen plant thatLinde supplies to BASF. When the new plant goes into operation, itwill increase the facility's total hydrogen capacity by 50,000standard cubic metres (Nm³/h). The highly purified hydrogen will befed into the BASF internal pipeline network.

The Linde Group is one of the leading providers of hydrogen plantsand has already set up more than 200 facilities of this typeworldwide.

The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company withmore than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide.Following the acquisition of The BOC Group plc, the company has gasesand engineering sales of approximately EUR 12 billion per annum. Thestrategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growthand focuses on the expansion of its international business withforward-looking products and services.For more information, please see The Linde Group online athttp://www.linde.com

For further information, please contact:Press                    Investor RelationsStefan Metz              Thomas EisenlohrPhone: +49.89.35757-1322 Phone: +49.89.35757-1330

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