BASF, RWE in renewable energy deal

BASF has agreed a deal to source green electricity for hydrogen production at the Ludwigshafen verbund site from a 2 gigawatt offshore wind farm that German energy giant RWE already has at the planning stage. This will also enable BSAF to electrify the production of multiple basic chemicals and 2.8 million tonnes/year of CO2 emissions at the site.

This is part of a letter of intent signed by BASF chair Dr Martin Brudermüller and his RWE counterpart, Dr Markus Krebber. The two envisage a wide-ranging cooperation for the creation of additional renewable electricity capacity and using new technologies for climate protection.

“Without the availability of sufficient volumes of electricity from renewable sources at competitive prices, our future transformation will not be possible,” Brudermüller said. “This task is only achievable with innovative and intensive cooperation between politics and industry. And it requires collaboration across the value chains.”

BASF added that achieving these aims “will require a suitable regulatory framework”. Green electricity should not be subject to EEG levy and there is currently no regulatory framework for CO2-free hydrogen production, they noted. In addition, a tendering process for offshore project sites where the current plans only foresee use after 2030 will be needed if policymakers’ desire to significantly increase the expansion targets for renewable energies and accelerate capacity additions, and these sites “should be specifically designated for tenders focused on industrial transformation processes”.