BASF has received funding approval from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for the construction of the world’s most powerful industrial heat pump. In the coming months, the company will therefore be able to start the preparatory construction work for the project at its Ludwigshafen site. The project is intended to make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.
The planned heat pump will have a capacity of up to 500,000 metric tons of steam per year. Powered by electricity from renewable energy, CO2-free steam is thus generated, and most of this steam is to be used in the production of formic acid. Here, the heat pump has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98%. A smaller proportion of the CO2-free steam is supplied to other BASF production plants via the steam network at the site. In total, the heat pump will reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the company’s headquarters by up to 100,000 metric tons per year.
The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027.