BASF Antwerp to take over

BASF and the German energy company RWE agreed that BASF Antwerpen NV will take over RWE's 50% share in Zandvliet Power NV. Zandvliet Power, a 50/50 joint venture with the Belgian company Electrabel, operates the combined heat and power (CHP) plant on the BASF site in Antwerp. The effective share transfer is expected in the course of this summer.

"This important investment underlines BASF's intention to further develop its Verbund site in Antwerp," says Margret Suckale, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and President of the Board of Directors of BASF Antwerpen NV. Following the acquisition, BASF will further strengthen its independency from increasingly fluctuating energy markets. At the Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, BASF has already invested in own local energy production plants to generate electricity and steam.

"A highly developed infrastructure is crucial for the future of the site. This investment makes us more attractive as an integrated chemical production site," Wouter De Geest, CEO of BASF Antwerpen, adds. "Following this acquisition, we will jointly manage this CHP plant which is important for the security of supply of electricity and steam to our chemical plants," he concludes.

A combined heat and power plant co-generates steam (heat) and electricity (power) with a significantly higher efficiency compared to separate generation of the same amount of energy in individual plants. This is in line with the BASF group's objective to increase its energy efficiency by 25% by 2020, compared to 2002. The Zandvliet Power CHP plant is in operation on the BASF site in Antwerp since 2005. It has an electrical power generation capacity of 400 megawatt (MW) and the possibility to supply up to 300 tons of steam per hour.