BASF Installs 95-Ton Evaporator for Industrial Heat Pump Project
BASF announced that a major component for its industrial heat pump project at its Ludwigshafen site has arrived and is being installed. The company said the 95-ton plate falling-film evaporator was transported from Schwedt to Ludwigshafen by waterway before being moved to the construction site by heavy-haul truck.
According to BASF, the evaporator is a key component in the industrial heat pump because it generates oxygen-free steam for use in production plants across the site’s Verbund network. The steam will primarily support formic acid production.
The heat pump, which BASF is developing with GIG Karasek, is expected to be one of the world’s largest industrial heat pumps for emission-free steam generation. The company said the system will use renewable electricity and waste heat from cooling processes at one of the site’s steam crackers to generate up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2-free steam annually.
BASF said the project will deliver thermal output of about 50 megawatts and could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from formic acid production by up to 100,000 metric tons per year, or about 98% of current emissions from the process.
The project broke ground in September 2025. At that time, BASF said the heat pump would cover about 2,000 square meters, produce up to 60 metric tons of steam per hour and connect to the site through pipe bridges. According to the company, the building infrastructure and most of the piping to the steam cracker have already been completed.
Commissioning remains scheduled for mid-2027. BASF said the project is supported by up to €310 million in funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through its Carbon Contracts for Difference program.