BASF mulls €2bn petchems joint venture in India, aims for 100% renewable energy supply

Jonathan Lopez

17-Jan-2019

LONDON (ICIS)–BASF is mulling a €2bn petrochemicals site in India through a joint venture with the country’s infrastructure major Adani which would be fully powered by renewable energy, the German chemicals major said on Thursday.

It will aim to complete a feasibility study by the end of 2019.

The site would be located at Mundra port in India’s western Gujarat state.

BASF would hold a majority stake in the joint venture, which would be its largest investment in India to date.

“The potential investment comprises the development, construction and operation of production plants including propane dehydrogenation (PDH), oxo C4 complex (butanols and 2-ethylhexanol [2-EH]), glacial acrylic acid (GAA), butyl acrylate (butyl-A) and potentially other downstream products,” said BASF.

The German major said that the energy supply would be 100% from renewable sources, by also becoming a minority partner in a wind and solar park set up at the site, making BASF’s first fully carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral.

“The products are predominantly for the Indian market to serve a wide range of local industries, including construction, automotive and coatings, whose growing demand is currently supplied via imports, thus supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” added BASF.

The Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative aims to industrialise the country, making it less reliant on imports. Started in 2014, the programme covers more than 20 economic sectors and tries to encourage the private sector to increase its manufacturing investments.

The chairman of India’s Adani – an infrastructure major with more than 10,000 employees and annual sales of over $10bn – said that India’s need for petrochemicals products would only increase going forward given the “rapid expansion” of the middle class.

“This [need for petrochemical imports] leads leads to a significant outflow of precious foreign exchange,” said Gautam Adani.

“Our partnership with BASF is a big step forward in enabling our country’s ‘Make in India’ programme, as this partnership will allow us to produce in Mundra several of the chemicals along the C3 chemical value chain that we are currently importing,” he added.

Pictured: A solar energy park run by Adani in India
Source: Adani Group

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