BASF drives innovation with new global Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center

August 24, 2021

BASF is strengthening its global catalyst development and helping customers to bring new products faster to the market. As part of this strategy, BASF is building a new pilot plant center at its Ludwigshafen site. The new Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center will serve as a global hub for pilot-scale production and process innovations of chemical catalysts.

The construction of the new pilot plant center in Ludwigshafen also emphasizes the importance of the site for global research. The new building is scheduled for completion by mid-2024.

"The new Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center strengthens our focus on innovative and sustainable solutions that benefit our customers and the environment. It is a strong sign of our continuous commitment to innovation in our chemical catalysts portfolio. It allows us to more quickly respond to market needs and contribute to a more sustainable chemical industry," said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts at BASF.

“The new Catalyst Development Center supports our Chemical Catalysts business’ growth strategy. It sends a strong signal to customers that we at BASF are committed to innovating our process catalysts portfolio and bringing new products to the market faster. The new pilot plant also supports even closer collaboration with our development partners to jointly drive innovation," said Dr. Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President, Process Catalysts at BASF.

Specifically, the new pilot plant helps chemical catalysts experts transfer laboratory recipes to production scale more quickly and manufacture sample quantities of new catalysts on a technical scale with short lead times. Customers thus gain faster access to new catalyst technologies - a factor that is critical to the successful introduction of new products to the market.