BASF has begun operating its largest proton exchange membrane electrolyzer at its Ludwigshafen site, the company said March 17. Designed to produce zero-carbon hydrogen, the electrolyzer has a connected load of 54 megawatts and the capacity to supply the main plant with up to one metric ton every hour. 

BASF said in a press statement that the water electrolyzer was built over two years in cooperation with Siemens Energy and directly integrated into the site’s production and infrastructure. The system has 72 stacks, modules in which the electrolysis process takes place, providing the potential to reduce up to 72,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas at the site each year.

The emission-free production of hydrogen uses electricity from renewable sources and is fundamental to the market ramp-up of chemical products with a reduced carbon footprint, noted BASF. Once produced, the hydrogen is fed into the site’s hydrogen Verbund network and distributed to the production facilities as a raw material. 

In addition to using it as a feedstock for chemical products, BASF plans to supply hydrogen for mobility in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, supporting the development of a hydrogen economy in the area.

The Ludwigshafen site previously produced hydrogen primarily by means of natural gas-based steam reforming or as a coupling product and byproduct.