Air Liquide strengthens its partnership with BASF in Antwerp with three new long-term contracts

Air Liquide and BASF, a world-leading chemical company, 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 a 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 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 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. 

Francois Jackow, Executive Vice-President and a member of the Executive Committee supervising activities in Europe:

“We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with BASF, a strategic customer for the Group. The signature of these new contracts demonstrates Air Liquide’s extensive capabilities to develop innovative and sustainable solutions and to create value for its customers over the long term. It also reflects our commitment to support our customers meet the challenge of the energy transition in line with our Climate Objectives.”