BASF receives funding approval for the construction of the world’s largest industrial heat pump for CO2-free steam generation

BASF has received funding approval from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for the construction of the world’s most powerful industrial heat pump.

In the coming months, the company will be able to start the preparatory construction work for the project at its Ludwigshafen site. The project is intended to make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.

“Incorporating new technologies into our chemical production processes is one of the key components of the green transformation at BASF. And our heat pump even has a unique selling point: the planned plant will be the first of its kind to be used for steam generation – there are no comparable industrial pilot projects anywhere in the world,” says Markus Kamieth, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. “That’s why we are thrilled that the Federal Ministry is supporting our project and thus investing in new processes that play an important role in the development of sustainable value chains in the chemical industry.”

The planned heat pump will have a capacity of up to 500,000 metric tons of steam per year. The waste heat, which is used as a thermal energy source, is generated during the cooling and cleaning of process gases in one of the two steam crackers at the site. Powered by electricity from renewable energy, CO2-free steam is thus generated, and most of this steam is to be used in the production of formic acid. Here, the heat pump has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98 percent. A smaller proportion of the CO2-free steam is supplied to other BASF production plants via the steam network at the site. In total, the heat pump will reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the company’s headquarters by up to 100,000 metric tons per year.

“We are sticking to our climate protection goals: BASF aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. We also aim to provide our customers with the best possible support on their transformation journey. Our Ludwigshafen site plays a key role in this regard. We want to turn it into a leading, sustainable chemical production site for Europe,” says Uwe Liebelt, President European Verbund Sites, BASF SE. “Electrifying steam generation is a crucial step towards generating the energy we so urgently need in the chemical industry in a more sustainable way. Our integrated Production Verbund is ideally suited to implementing and scaling up new technologies, such as the planned heat pump, on an industrial scale.”

The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is contributing up to around 310 million to the project as part of the Carbon Contracts for Difference funding program.