BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) signed a multi-year cooperation agreement with Air Liquide Group’s (Air Liquide) subsidiary, Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases Co., Ltd. (SCIPIG), and Shenergy Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Shenji Energy & Environment Technology Co., Ltd. (Shenji). The collaboration aims to utilize biomethane to jointly promote the production of low-carbon footprint methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI).
According to the agreement, Shenji will leverage its advanced bio-circular waste treatment technology to produce biomethane that meets national standards and deliver it into urban natural gas grid operated by Shanghai Gas. SCIPIG will use this biomethane to produce bio-hydrogen and bio-CO. BASF will then utilize these bio-based industrial gases to manufacture MDI and its derivatives with reduced product carbon footprint (rPCF), including but not limited to monomeric MDI. Monomeric MDIs are either used as pure isocynate, in mixtures with polymeric MDI (pMDI) or in prepolymers for flexible foams, CASE applications, shoe soles or thermoplastic polyurethane.
“I am thrilled to see BASF and Shenergy launching this project with Air Liquide, just one year after we signed a Memorandum of Understanding for biomethane cooperation,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lou, President and Chairman of BASF Greater China. “By applying bio-based feedstock, BASF will further reduce the carbon footprint of our products, demonstrating our commitment to expanding our sustainable product portfolio and driving circular economy. It also marks a pivotal step to enable our local customers’ green transformation and jointly build a low-carbon future.”
Dinan Huang, Chairman of Shenergy Group, stated “Shenergy Group is committed to driving the circular economy by converting bio-based waste into valuable bioenergy. Today’s agreement marks a major milestone following last year’s partnership with BASF and a breakthrough in building a low-carbon value chain of ‘bio-based feedstock – green chemicals.’ Through this collaboration, we aim to accelerate green development and contribute to industry transformation and sustainable urban growth.”
“This is the first time that bio-hydrogen and bio-CO have been locally produced in Shanghai from biomass, which will be fully compliant with ISCC* PLUS standards, following the respective site and product certifications,” Rui Coelho, Air Liquide China Chief Executive Officer, said, “This contract kicks off the production of bio-products in SCIP, providing a momentum to support the decarbonization goals and the circular economy targets of the industrial players in the industrial park. Air Liquide China is committed to the development of reliable and competitive solutions that help our customers to reduce their carbon footprint.”