A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place for one of the world’s largest industrial heat pumps for CO2-free steam generation.
The industrial heat pump is being developed by German chemical manufacturer BASF in cooperation with project partner GIG Karasek at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site in western Germany.
The heat pump, with a thermal output of 50 MW, will use electricity from renewable energy sources to produce up to 60 MT of CO2-free steam per hour, equivalent to 500,000 MT of steam annually, which will be used primarily for the production of formic acid.
It will also utilize waste heat produced by cooling processes in one of the two steam crackers at the site. Covering an area of around 2,000 m2 next to the steam cracker, it will be connected to the plant via pipe bridges.
BASF says the heat pump is expected to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions generated at the Ludwigshafen site by up to 98%, equating to the reduction of 100,000 MT of CO2 annually.
Commissioning of the heat pump, which was backed by a €310 million ($361.8 million) funding package from the German government last October, is scheduled for mid-2027.
Helmut Winterling, President European Verbund Sites of BASF SE, commented that the electrification of pivotal production processes and energy generation is key to achieving climate neutrality in the chemical industry.
“In our gas and steam power plants, emission-free steam from the heat pump will now partially replace conventionally generated steam derived from fossil fuels,” Winterling added. “Our goal is to offer our customers products that have a lower carbon footprint. We achieve this both through biomass balance methods and through targeted investments in green technologies such as heat pumps.
In March, BASF commissioned a 54 MW proton exchange membrane electrolyzer at its Ludwigshafen site following two years of construction.
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