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BASF Catalysts India Pvt Ltd, a part of German chemicals company BASF, has doubled the production capacity for mobile emissions catalysts in India with the inauguration of a new manufacturing site in Chennai. The site includes a new 47,000 sq m production plant, which replaces an existing BASF plant in Chennai and is the culmination of a three-year expansion project. BASF Group’s catalysts division is one of the world’s leading suppliers of environmental and process catalysts.

The manufacturing lines are housed in the new plant, producing a full range of catalyst solutions, including light duty, heavy duty and motorcycle emissions catalysts to meet growing market demand and customer technology needs. The site produces BASF Empro emissions control solutions including the three-way catalyst (TWC), diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), catalysed soot filter (CSF) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst.

“Around the Asia Pacific region, and especially here in India, mobility is ever more important. At the same time, more and more vehicles are being manufactured locally in India. To meet the demands of this growth, according to BASF’s Asia Pacific strategy and in support of Make in India and other government initiatives, we are expanding our local production network in the region,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, member of the board of executive directors, BASF SE responsible for Asia Pacific.

With the expansion of the manufacturing capacity and capabilities in Chennai, BASF Catalysts will be in better position to meet the growing demand for advanced emissions control solutions in the country, with the government enforcing stricter emission norms for vehicles.

“It (the expansion) will help our customers meet increasingly stringent requirements such as the Indian government’s decision to advance from BS IV emissions norms to BS VI norms by 2020. Furthermore, the new site will produce advanced heavy duty emissions catalysts, which will allow us to better serve the fast-growing automotive markets in India,” said Dirk Demuth, senior vice president, mobile emissions catalysts, BASF.

“With initiatives like Make in India, Smart Cities, and Swachh Bharat, India is in the forefront of rapid and sustainable development. This offers significant opportunities for the chemical industry as well as BASF. We are investing actively in India to realise these opportunities. The expansion of our mobile emissions catalysts plant in Chennai is another example of our continued focus on investing in assets for growth,” said Dr Raman Ramachandran, head of BASF operations in South Asia.

Through its local subsidiaries BASF India Limited, BASF Chemicals India Pvt Ltd and BASF Catalysts India Pvt Ltd, the BASF Group has invested approximately € 300 million (about Rs 2,100 crore), over the past four years, in manufacturing and research & development.