- Expansion to serve the growing demands from various industries in the Chinese market

- Newly-built facilities to utilize renewable energy, aiming to significantly reduce carbon emissions during the production process and lower carbon footprints of its products

Nanjing, China – November 10, 2023 – BASF and SINOPEC today inaugurated the expanded downstream chemical plants at their Verbund site operated by BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. (BASF-YPC), a 50-50 joint venture of both companies in Nanjing. The expansion is a strategic response to the growing demand from various industries in the Chinese market. A new tert-butyl acrylate (TBA) plant is also expected to come on stream by the end of 2023, marking it the first implementation of this advanced production technology outside of Germany. TBA is a monofunctional monomer that offers outstanding chemical resistance, weatherability and hydrophobicity. These properties make it widely used in industries such as paper, coatings, adhesives, inks, and more.

“I am proud to celebrate the commencement of our new plants at the Nanjing Verbund site, which marks another milestone in our longstanding partnership with SINOPEC,” said Dr. Markus Kamieth, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE. “BASF-YPC sets a high standard for safety and business performance among our joint ventures globally and will continue to enable our business growth in China with this expansion.” 

“The ongoing success of BASF-YPC is a clear testament to the mutual trust and strong partnership between SINOPEC and BASF,” said Baocai Yu, President of SINOPEC Corp. “The successful expansion marks a new era of our robust collaboration and shared vision of sustainable development and technological advancement." 

The inauguration celebrates BASF-YPC’s expansion in the production of high-quality chemical intermediates, including propionic acid (PA), propionic aldehyde (PALD), purified ethylene oxide (PEO), ethyleneamines (EEAs), and ethanolamines (EOAs). These intermediate products enable extensive applications in a wide range of industries such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, construction, textiles, and daily chemicals.

The new facilities, supplied with renewable electricity, will further reduce carbon emissions during production and make chemicals with low product carbon footprints (PCFs) available to the market. For example, BASF-YPC will introduce PA products to the Asian market with approximately 40% lower PCFs than domestically produced coal-based alternatives. This will help its customers reduce the carbon footprints of their products.[BASF-YPC’s PCF calculations follow the requirements and guidance given by ISO 14067:2018. In a methodology review, TÜV Rheinland has confirmed that the PCF (SCOTT) methodology developed by BASF and used by BASF-YPC Company Limited is scientifically based  in accordance with ISO 14067:2018, and reflects the state of the art (ID-Nr. 0000080389: BASF SE - Certipedia).

The referenced PCF comparison is based on BASF-YPC’s assessments of market-wide average carbon footprints of the respective products using publicly available information on production routes and deployed raw materials, as well as its own market and technology know-how. The applied methodology and data assumptions are the same as for the calculation of the PCF of the BASF-YPC Company Limited product.

“This expansion further enhances BASF’s production capabilities in China, the world’s largest chemical market. We are confident to co-create with our local customers, meet the growing market demands with our innovative and sustainable products, and contribute to the transformation of various industries in China into a sustainable future," said Dr. Jeffrey Lou, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF. 

“We have successfully implemented first-class technology and standards in constructing these new facilities, which are designed to improve resource utilization efficiency. They also extend the upstream and downstream industrial chain, thereby strengthening our competitive advantages in the dynamic Chinese market,” said Yuefeng Gu, Chairman of Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company Limited and BASF-YPC Company Limited.