German multinational chemical firm BASF has commissioned that nation’s largest proton trade membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. The corporate mentioned the 54-MW facility could have an annual capability of as a lot as 8,000 metric tons of hydrogen.
The electrolyzer is situated at BASF’s Ludwigshafen website. It’s designed to supply zero-carbon hydrogen, utilizing electrical energy from renewable vitality assets, with capability to produce the principle plant on the website with as much as one metric ton of chemical feedstock every hour.
BASF commissioned the ability on March 17, two years after the beginning of building. The water electrolyzer was inbuilt cooperation with Siemens Vitality. BASF officers in a information launch mentioned the electrolyzer “is embedded in the production and infrastructure at the Ludwigshafen site, making it truly unique in terms of its interface and integration into a chemical production environment.” The system contains 72 stacks, that are the modules through which the precise electrolysis course of takes place. Officers mentioned the electrolyzer has the potential to scale back greenhouse fuel emissions at BASF’s foremost plant by as much as 72,000 metric tons per 12 months.
BASF mentioned that after it’s produced, the hydrogen is fed into the location’s hydrogen Verbund community and distributed to the manufacturing services as a uncooked materials. BASF, along with utilizing it as a feedstock for chemical merchandise, plans to produce hydrogen for mobility within the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Area, supporting the event of a hydrogen financial system within the space.
Supporting Local weather Targets
“The commissioning of the electrolyzer makes it possible for us to support our customers in achieving their climate targets by offering them products with a lower carbon footprint,” mentioned Katja Scharpwinkel, a member of BASF’s govt board and the location director at Ludwigshafen. “At the same time, we are 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 recognized the importance of this technology and provided us with significant support toward the project’s implementation.”
Katrin Eder, Rhineland-Palatinate’s state minister for Local weather Safety, Surroundings, Vitality, and Mobility, mentioned, “BASF has embarked on an ambitious path to net zero. 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 electrolyzer at the Ludwigshafen location represents an important milestone and supports the achievement of Rhineland-Palatinate’s climate protection targets.”
A number of companies have supported the undertaking. The German Federal Ministry for Financial Affairs and Local weather Motion, in cooperation with the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, offered funding of as much as €124.3 million ($135.2 million) for the development of the plant, with €37.3 million ($40.6 million) of that financed by the federal government of Rhineland-Palatinate. BASF’s funding within the undertaking quantities to about €25 million ($27.2 million). The undertaking, known as Hy4CHem, was chosen as a part of the IPCEI Hydrogen expression of curiosity process and subsequently funded as a person undertaking.
Alexander Schweitzer, minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate, mentioned, “The commissioning of the electrolyzer at BASF for the production of green hydrogen is a milestone for the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and Europe and an important commitment of BASF to its technology and production site in Ludwigshafen. With the Hy4Chem project, BASF is impressively demonstrating how the transformation of the energy-intensive chemical industry can succeed—innovatively, sustainably, and internationally competitively. As the state government, we support this process with up to €37.3 million because we are convinced that hydrogen plays a key role in decarbonizing and securing our industrial jobs. Today’s inauguration sends a strong signal for a climate-neutral future and strengthens Ludwigshafen as a business location.”
“I am delighted that the federal government’s efforts to support the hydrogen economy in Germany are bearing fruit,” mentioned Udo Philipp, state secretary on the Federal Ministry for Financial Affairs and Local weather Motion. “A flagship project for the integration of hydrogen into a chemical production site has become a reality at the Ludwigshafen site. It is the largest project of its kind in Germany to date, making it an important pioneer as we strive to achieve our climate targets. Through this collaboration, BASF is demonstrating what decarbonization of the industrial sector can look like in practice and inspiring further technological progress.”
Hydrogen beforehand has primarily been produced on the Ludwigshafen website by means of the usage of pure gas-based steam reforming, or as a coupling product and by-product.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
