BASF Receives €310 Million Funding to Build World's Largest CO₂-Free Steam Production Project, Expected to Reduce Emissions by 98%

BASF announced on October 15 that it has successfully secured approximately €310 million in financial assistance from the German government. The money will be used to build the world's largest CO₂ free steam production industrial heat pump. According to the plan, the project will officially start in the first quarter of 2025, and is expected to be fully operational in 2027.

Steam plays a vital role in the chemical industry and is one of the indispensable energy sources in many chemical reaction processes. In 2023, BASF consumed about 14 million tons of steam at its production site in Ludwigshafen. In order to achieve low-carbon production, BASF already meets half of the site's steam needs through heat recovery technology, while the rest relies mainly on gas and steam power plants for supply.

The planned industrial heat pump project will be able to provide up to 500,000 tons of steam supply capacity per year. This innovative technology will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from formic acid production by up to 98%. The heat pump will use waste heat from one of the two steam cracking units on site as a source of thermal energy and will be driven by renewable energy sources, enabling the production of CO₂ free steam. In addition, most of the steam will be used directly for formic acid production, while a small amount of CO2-free steam will be supplied to other plants through the steam network on site. It is estimated that the heat pump will help the BASF headquarters reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 100,000 tons per year.

Markus Kameith, Chairman of the Executive Board of BASF, stressed that integrating new technologies into the chemical production process is one of the key components of BASF's green transformation. He noted that the planned heat pump project is the first such facility for steam production in the world, and there are currently no similar industrial pilot projects worldwide. This innovative initiative will not only bring significant environmental benefits to BASF, but will also set a model of sustainability for the entire chemical industry.