Germany: Carbon Capture BASF and bse Engineering to Transform Carbon Dioxide into Methanol

BASF and bse Engineering signed an exclusive joint development agreement for BASF to provide custom made catalysts for a new chemical energy storage process.

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Ludwigshafen and Leipzig/Germany — This process will enable the transformation of excess current and off-gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the chemical energy storage methanol in small-scale, delocalized production units.

When generating current from renewable energy sources such as in wind or solar power plants, excess current is generated at times when consumers do not need it. This excess current can often not be reasonably used at the moment.

The effective usage of this excess current is a decisive factor in making power production from renewable energy sources economically viable.

CO₂ is generated in some industrial production plants such as in steel production, incineration plants or coal power plants. The reduction of this greenhouse gas is one of the most important targets set in the context of the 2015 Paris Climate Protection

Agreement.

The new process developed by bse Engineering enables the use of current and CO₂ with small-scale, delocalized production units built where the two components are generated, i.e. near power plants using renewable sources of energy as well as large-scale industrial plants producing CO₂.

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The excess current will be used to produce hydrogen through discontinuous electrolysis. In a second step, methanol is produced from CO₂ and hydrogen, thus leading to a valorizing of excess current and CO₂ off-stream gas.

In the second process step, BASF’s catalysts will be used for the methanol synthesis step. Those catalysts have been further tuned and adapted for this specific process to enable the most efficient production of methanol. Methanol is one of the most important basic chemicals used in numerous industrial applications. For example, it is blended into diesel or gasoline in some countries.

“We are pleased to participate in this exciting endeavor and to contribute significantly to a concrete solution for the use of excess current and CO₂ as a raw material,” said Adrian Steinmetz, Vice President Chemical Catalysts at BASF. “We will leverage our know-how and expertise in catalysis in the service of advancing a sustainable answer for the transition to new energy sources and the material use of CO₂.”

“After four years of developing the global process concept, we are now ready to enter the licensing phase of this process, with construction of the first plants starting soon,” said Christian Schweitzer, Managing Director of bse Engineering. “The implementation of these projects is ensured with international branch leaders of the respective process units and part-services over a reliable consortium consisting of Aker Solutions ASA, Sulzer Chemtech AG, Infraserv GmbH & Co. Knapsack KG, led by bse Engineering.”

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