BASF plans to close its caprolactam plant, and one of the two ammonia plants and associated fertilizer facilities at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany.
Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors said in the company’s 24 February statement that: “Europe’s competitiveness is increasingly suffering from overregulation, slow and bureaucratic permitting processes, and in particular, high costs for most production input factors.”
“All this has already hampered market growth in Europe in comparison with other regions. High energy prices are now putting an additional burden on profitability and competitiveness in Europe.”
The structural changes will lead to a significant reduction in the power and natural gas demand at the Ludwigshafen site.
The company estimates that CO2 emissions in Ludwigshafen will be reduced by around 0.9 million metric tonnes per year. This corresponds to a reduction of around 4 percent in BASF’s global CO2 emissions.
BASF said that it intended to secure greater supplies of renewable energy for the Ludwigshafen site.
Read the NOV/DEC 2022 issue of New AG International, here.