Air Liquide and BASF have recently signed three new long-term contracts in the Antwerp basin (Belgium). Air Liquide has been supplying BASF with gas for over 50 years in this major industrial basin and is currently operating five production plants on site. These new contracts are coherent with a low carbon footprint approach, in line with the Group’s Climate objectives.
Leveraging on five existing onsite production plants in the Antwerp basin, Air Liquide has entered into a new 15-year agreement to renew its Airgas supply to existing installations and provide additional oxygen to a new Ethylene Oxide plant to be built by BASF.
Air Liquide will also build and operate a new nitrogen removal unit (NRU) to supply BASF with high purity gas to enable more efficient production of MDI, an important chemical component that is used in house insulation helping save energy in buildings and other applications. This new NRU is scheduled to be operational by mid-2021.
In addition, Air Liquide will purchase part of the methane fraction generated during the BASF production process and valorize it as a feedstock in its hydrogen production plants at the site contributing to the circular economy and reducing CO2 emissions up to 15,000 tons per year on the Antwerp site.
Air Liquide is a long-standing and leading gas supplier of the Antwerp integrated chemical basin, the largest in Europe. The Group is also actively engaged in the initiatives to address Climate Change in the Port of Antwerp as demonstrated by a cooperation agreement signed with other leading players including BASF last December to explore the option of reducing CO2 emissions locally.
