BASF has received financial approval from the German government to build the world’s largest industrial heat pump for CO₂-free steam generation. The project will be developed at the Ludwigshafen plant, with a planned capacity of 500,000 tons of steam per year.
The industrial heat pump from BASF
The plant will use the waste heat generated by the gas cooling processes in steam crackers, transforming it into thermal energy that will be used for steam production. This carbon-free steam will be used primarily to produce formic acid , one of the plant’s essential elements. With this technology, greenhouse gas emissions related to this production are expected to be reduced by up to 98%.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is supporting this project with funding of up to €310 million under the Carbon Contracts for Difference program. This investment is key to accelerating the adoption of clean technologies in industrial processes, and BASF expects to begin construction in the first quarter of 2025.
BASF SE Board of Management Chairman Markus Kamieth emphasized that this heat pump is unprecedented worldwide: “ It will be the first industrial plant to use a heat pump of this type to generate steam, which demonstrates our commitment to innovation and sustainability in the chemical industry .”
In addition, the plant will contribute to reducing BASF’s CO₂ emissions by up to 100,000 tons per year, aligning with the company’s climate neutrality goals by 2050. The electrification of steam generation is essential to achieving these goals, and the Ludwigshafen plant is positioned as an important technology hub for these processes.
Currently, around 50% of the steam BASF uses in its operations is produced in a low-carbon manner through heat recovery. But with this new technology, the company is determined to improve this figure even further.
The Ludwigshafen plant , which features important sustainability projects such as a water electrolyzer and an electric steam cracker, reinforces BASF’s commitment to innovation and decarbonization. President of European Verbund Sites at BASF , Uwe Liebelt, said: “ We are transforming our plant into a benchmark for sustainable chemical production in Europe, and this project is a decisive step towards generating cleaner energy in our industry .”
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Source: BASF
Photo: BMWK / Andreas Mertens
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