Ludwigshafen, Germany – BASF’s performance materials plants in Europe are now running entirely on renewable energy. This includes its polyurethane operations.
In all, nine European sites have been converted. Renewable energy is also one of the factors the company is using when choosing its suppliers, it said, as this will reduce the carbon footprint of its own products.
“Ludwigshafen, as the world’s largest integrated chemical complex, cannot switch completely to renewable electricity from one day to the next,” said Alexander Weiser, SVP and head of BASF Performance Materials Europe. “Our own combined cycle gas power plants produce electricity and process steam with a 95% efficiency at emissions far below the average grid level. The switch at this site has to be done gradually and we, at performance materials, are a leading part of this transformation.”
BASF is now planning to convert all its global operations to renewable energy. Key to this, it said, will be the expansion of renewable energy production via significant projects. A good example is the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore windfarm – the world’s biggest – which is jointly owned by BASF and Vattenfall and came onstream in 2023. In addition, its second largest German site at Schwarzheide now has 24MW solar capacity.
“As BASF, we want to enable our customers green transformation,” said Martin Jung, president of the performance materials division. “The use of electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar is necessary to achieve our climate targets. However, renewable electricity is not the only lever for reducing CO2 emissions. Green steam made from the electrification of processes and the use of alternative raw materials via the mass balance approach play an essential role in the transformation towards a sustainable chemical industry.”