BASF Secures Funding for World's Largest CO2-Free Steam Industrial Heat Pump
Germany: BASF has received funding approval from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to construct the world’s most powerful industrial heat pump, capable of generating up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2-free steam annually. The project, set to begin preparatory construction at the Ludwigshafen site in the coming months, aims to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, with the potential to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98% in formic acid production. The heat pump will utilize waste heat generated during the cooling and cleaning of process gases from the site’s steam crackers and will be powered by renewable electricity, contributing to a total emissions reduction of approximately 100,000 metric tons per year.
Scheduled for commissioning in 2027, the project will receive around EUR 310 million (USD 331 million) in funding through the Carbon Contracts for Difference program. Steam is a critical energy source in the chemical industry, with BASF using about 14 million metric tons of steam in Ludwigshafen last year, half of which is met through heat recovery.
Source: BASF