The world’s biggest consumers of electricity are hidden in plain sight

Major industrial producers of gases consume more power than many tech and oil giants.

Their electricity-intensive production accounts for 2% of carbon emissions in China and the U.S., yet these suppliers remain virtually unknown to consumers.

There’s an industry that consumes even more power than many tech giants, and it has largely escaped the same scrutiny: suppliers of industrial gases.

Nitrogen, oxygen, helium — everyday items like toothpaste and lifesaving treatments such as MRIs are among the countless parts of modern life that rely on access to gases. Producing these gases and then transporting them to industrial facilities and hospitals is a highly energy-intensive process.

Three companies — Linde, Air Liquide and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. — control 70% of the $120-billio