BASF has been granted a special permit by the Ministry of Health of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz, Germany, to allow medical disinfectants to be produced at the Ludwigshafen, Germany site. According to a press release, BASF produces some of the raw materials that can be used to manufacture disinfectants. Other necessary raw materials are purchased externally. BASF has now reallocated several metric tons, in particular of isopropanol, to the production of hand sanitizers to aid in combating coronavirus.
“The spread of the novel coronavirus is a challenge for us as a society. We have considered how we can best help within the scope of our possibilities by supporting those who are now particularly important: hospital doctors and nursing staff,” says Michael Heinz, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and site manager Ludwigshafen. “We would therefore like to thank the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Federal Ministry of Health for rapidly reviewing and granting the necessary permits. As our production capabilities are very limited, we will initially only be able to supply hospitals in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. In this way we hope to ease the overall demand situation.”