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Sustainability

Our Carbon Management

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We want to live up to our responsibility for climate protection. One way we do this is with our products, which enable our customers to lower CO2 emissions. But that is not all: We also become more efficient in our production and energy use, we will increase our use of renewable energies and we will accelerate the development and deployment of new CO2-free processes for the production of chemicals.

How can we create a more climate-friendly chemical industry? 

Several new technologies for reducing CO2 emissions in the chemical industry are being developed at BASF. These include the electrically heated steam cracker furnace and the CO2-free production of hydrogen. If it is not possible to produce CO2-free, we also want to examine the use of storage processes for CO2.
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We are increasingly using biomass in our production, which partially replaces fossil raw materials.
Der Salpetersäure Verbund gehört in Ludwigshafen zu den Kernanlagen des Standorts. Hier wird Salpetersäure in verschiedensten Konzentrationen hergestellt. Neben dem Versorgen von Rohstoffen übernimmt der Salpetersäure Verbund auch andere Aufgaben. So nutzt sie Abgase anderer Betriebe und steuert einen erheblichen Anteil der Dampfproduktion bei.Chemikant Daniel Korn (l) und Industrieschlosser Niklas Hoffmann (r) machen einen Kontrollgang an den Filterkammern der Ansaugluft für Luftverdichter.
In recent decades, BASF has already achieved a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions by optimizing energy generation and production processes as well as systematically reducing emissions of nitrous oxide. These continuous improvements will remain an important lever on the path to climate neutrality in the future.
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In order to be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale, the focus is on switching to renewable energy sources. This is because the use of new technologies will replace fossil fuels such as natural gas with electricity from renewable sources in the future. 
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Steamcracker im BASF-Werk Ludwigshafen . Eine Fläche von rund 64.000 Quadratmetern das entspricht 13 Fußballfeldern umfasst der Steamcracker II, die größte einzelne Anlage am Standort Ludwigs­hafen der BASF. Der Cracker ist auch das "Herzstück" der Verbundproduktion. Seit 1981 ist dieser Gigant in Betrieb und spaltet unter Zusatz von Wasserdampf bei etwa 850 Grad Celsius Rohbenzin auf. Dabei entstehen im wesentlichen Ethylen und Propylen, beides unverzichtbare Grundstoffe für die Herstellung vieler Produkte in Ludwigshafen. Abdruck honorarfrei. Copyright by BASF. Steam cracker at BASF's Ludwigshafen site. Steam cracker II, the largest individual plant at BASF's Ludwigshafen site, covers a surface area of about 64,000 square meters, which is about the size of 13 soccer fields. The steam cracker is also the heart of BASF's Verbund production strategy. This giant plant has been operating since 1981 and uses steam to crack naphtha at about 850°C [1,562°F]. This process leads primarily to ethylene and propylene, both indispensable feedstocks for manufacturing numerous products in Ludwigs­hafen.Print free of charge. Copyright by BASF.
Another lever for reducing CO2 is the use of electric heat pumps to generate CO2-free steam from waste heat and use it at our sites.

BASF is setting itself an ambitious goal of net zero by 2050 because we are convinced of the long-term strategic necessity and technical feasibility. Nevertheless, most new technologies are not yet competitive under the current conditions. Since the replacement of existing highly efficient production processes by new plants is very capital-intensive, BASF is working on German and European funding programs such as the IPCEI (Import Project of Common European Interest).

In addition, we work with numerous partners from universities, research institutes and companies on sustainable solutions for a carbon neutral future. We are convinced that the challenges of climate change can only be mastered together with our partners.

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