BASF, SABIC and Linde start up large-scale electric steam cracker demonstration plant

On April 17, BASF, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Linde held an unveiling ceremony for the world’s first large-scale electrically heated steam cracking furnace demonstration plant.

After three years of development and engineering work, the demonstration plant is now ready for normal operation at BASF’s integrated site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF is responsible for operations, and Linde is responsible for material procurement and engineering construction.  

The plant is intended to demonstrate that it is possible to continuously produce olefins using electricity as a heat source. Using electricity from renewable sources has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by more than 90% compared to current conventional technologies.

The two companies said in a joint statement that the facility will be fully integrated into the existing steam cracker in Ludwigshafen to produce olefins such as ethylene, propylene and also potentially produce higher purity olefins from saturated hydrocarbon feedstocks.

According to the partner companies, the goal of the upcoming operations is to collect data and gain experience on the material production process under commercial operating conditions in order to eventually develop this innovative technology into a mature industrial market.

In two separate demonstration furnaces, two different heating concepts will be tested. In one furnace, direct heating applies electric current to the cracked coil, while in the second furnace, indirect heating utilizes radiant heat from heating elements placed around the coil. The two electric heating furnaces combined have a hydrocarbon feedstock processing rate of approximately 4 tons/hour and consume 6 MW of renewable energy.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is supporting the development of new furnace technologies with €14.8 million through the "Decarbonization of Industry" funding program.

Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF, said:"With the development of the electric steam cracker, we are mastering a key technology that will help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the chemical industry."

Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, CEO of SABIC, added:"Electronic furnace technology has great potential for the sustainable development of the global petrochemical industry. It could demonstrate the role renewable electricity can play in more efficient and low-emission chemical processing."

Jürgen Nowicki, CEO of Linde Engineering, said: “Our shared goal is to demonstrate that electrification of the petrochemical industry is possible and that steam crackers can be operated with sustainable electricity generation.