BASF has commissioned the largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser in Germany, at their Ludwigshafen site.
Designed to produce zero-carbon hydrogen, the electrolyser has a connected load of 54 MW and the capacity to supply the main plant with up to 1 tph of this substantial chemical feedstock. After a construction period of around two years, the plant was officially inaugurated in the presence of Katrin Eder, the Rhineland-Palatinate State Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, and Mobility, and Udo Philipp, the State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Built in cooperation with Siemens Energy, the water electrolyser is embedded in the production and infrastructure at the Ludwigshafen site. A total of 72 stacks – modules in which the actual electrolysis process takes place – have been installed in the system. The electrolyser has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) at BASF’s main plant by up to 72 000 tpy.
The emission-free production of hydrogen is key to the market ramp-up of chemical products with a reduced carbon footprint. Once produced, the hydrogen is fed into the site’s hydrogen Verbund network and distributed to the production facilities as a raw material. In addition to using it as a feedstock for chemical products, BASF plans to supply hydrogen for mobility in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, Germany, to support the development of a hydrogen economy in the area.
In cooperation with the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action provided funding of up to €124.3 million for the construction of the plant – €37.3 million of which was financed by the government of Rhineland-Palatinate. BASF’s investment in the project amounts to around €25 million. The project, entitled Hy4CHem, was selected as part of the IPCEI Hydrogen expression of interest procedure and subsequently funded as an individual project.
Katja Scharpwinkel, member of BASF SE’s Board of Executive Directors and Site Director Ludwigshafen, said: “The commissioning of the electrolyser makes it possible for us to support our customers in achieving their climate targets by offering them products with a lower carbon footprint. We are also gaining experience at our largest Verbund site with the integration and operation of a system that brings us another step closer to transforming our main plant in Ludwigshafen. We welcome the fact that the federal government and state government have recognised the importance of this technology, and provided us with significant support toward the project’s implementation.”
Katrin Eder, Rhineland-Palatinate’s State Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, and Mobility, added: “In addition to progressively increasing its generation of electricity and process heat from renewable energies, the company also plans to use renewable raw materials as alternatives to the fossil energy sources currently employed, such as natural gas. Designed to produce green hydrogen as a raw material, the new electrolyser at the Ludwigshafen location supports the achievement of Rhineland-Palatinate’s climate protection targets.”
Among other applications, hydrogen is used in the production of ammonia, methanol, and vitamins. Until now, hydrogen has been produced at the Ludwigshafen location primarily by means of natural gas-based steam reforming, or as a coupling product and by-product. With the electrolyser, BASF is helping the transformation of hydrogen production technology.