Chemicals BASF wants to focus more on alternative raw materials

The chemical giant BASF is aiming for climate-neutral production by 2050 and a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The German company hopes that everyone will join in with the planned transformation.

BASF wants to rely more heavily on alternative raw materials for production. "This can be anything, even frying fat or liquid manure, but above all substances such as biogas or bionaphtha," said CEO Markus Kamieth to "Manager Magazin".

The demand for green raw materials will rise sharply in the coming years, Kamieth said. "Because all industries need to decarbonize. We are already buying it today, but we may also become involved in biorefineries."

The Group has largely taken the supply of energy for its European sites, in particular Ludwigshafen and Antwerp, into its own hands. "We will increasingly use green energy, which we generate in our wind farms in the North Sea, as well as alternative raw materials. Our main plant in Ludwigshafen offers ideal conditions for this."

BASF currently offers 40,000 products. "On request, we can produce every single one of them with a low CO2 footprint. But this is expensive, and customers must be prepared to pay for this premium."

BASF recently announced a comprehensive restructuring of the Group with possible closures of further plants and job cuts, including in Ludwigshafen.

SDA