NEWS
BASF creates renewable energies operation
BASF has bundled its activities in renewable energies under the umbrella of BASF Renewable Energy from the start of 2022 . Led by Horatio Evers , this subsidiary focuses on supplying European sites with electricity from renewable energies , electricity trading and global consulting . “ As the leading company in the chemical industry , we are already one of the largest industrial electricity consumers in Europe . Due to the conversion to renewable energy , as well as the launch of new , lowemission production processes based on electricity , our demand will increase significantly in the future ,” Evers said . BASF expects its electricity consumption in Europe to rise from 9 TWh / year now to the point where at least three to four times as much from renewable sources will be needed to reach the net zero goal . To address this , BASF Renewable Energy will initiate new projects to generate renewable energy from its own and partners ’ production and will conclude power purchase agreements ( PPAs ) with energy producers . Some PPAs are already in place , such as with Ørsted , where the company has a 25-year contract to purchase 186 MW of capacity from the planned Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in the North Sea . It has also signed a contract with Vattenfall to acquire a
49.5 % stake in the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm with a total capacity of 1.5 GW , though it has since agreed to sell 25 % to Allianz . BASF has recently signed a PPA with Engie , under which it will source up to 20.7 TWh of renewable electricity over the 25-year term . This will initially come from onshore wind farms at sites in Spain where Engie acts as an equity investor or energy manager . Later , it may also come from other onshore and offshore wind farms . Looking more widely , BASF has also created a unit called Net Zero Accelerator to bundle the activities that are part of its pledge to reduce its
CO 2 emissions by 25 % from 2018 to 2030 and become climate-neutral by 2050 . This will focus on “ implementing and accelerating projects relating to low-CO 2 production technologies , circular economy and renewable energies ”. Net Zero Accelerator will aim to move projects that target the
CO 2 reduction targets into the implementation phase over the next few years . “ By pooling expertise around renewable energies , alternative raw materials and CO 2 reduction technologies , BASF will increase the speed of implementation and achieve scaling effects more quickly , thus making an important contribution to climate protection ,” the company stated .
From 2030 , BASF wants to implement low-emission technologies , such as CO 2
-free methods for hydrogen production and electrically heated steam crackers . Renewable energies form another field of activity , as do such cross-company projects as methane pyrolysis for the chemical recycling of waste plastics . The new project organisation is to bebased at BASF ’ s main site in Ludwigshafen , Germany . It will also start operations at the start of 2022 , initially with around 80 employees . Unit president Dr Lars Kissau will report directly to executive board chairman Dr Martin Brudermüller . To address the automotive industry ’ s move towards electric vehicles , BASF has also established a stand-alone business called BASF Automotive Catalysts & Recycling , cover its mobile emissions catalysts , automotive catalysts recycling and associated precious metal services . The carve-out will take place over 18 months from January . The new business will ultimately be a distinct legal entity employing about 4,000 at some 20 sites . It will be headquartered in Iselin , New Jersey , and led by Dirk Bremm as CEO . This is all linked to BASF ’ s long-term battery materials strategy , which envisages investments of € 3.5-4.5 billion in battery materials between 2022 and 2030 .
16 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981