OIL, GAS & ENERGY


FROM AMBITION TO ENGINEERING REALITY


Lydia Thelen and Anne-Claire Schubert, from Siemens Energy, discuss the Hy4Chem project at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site, illustrating its role in large scale industrial decarbonisation


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eavy industry will not decarbonise through promises or small pilots. It will change only when new energy systems are embedded directly into live production environments, where


reliability, safety and economics must coexist from day one. The Hy4Chem project at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site demonstrates how hydrogen is beginning that transition from theory to operational infrastructure. The debate surrounding industrial decarbonisation has often been framed as a future challenge, something dependent on breakthroughs yet to arrive or policies still under negotiation. Yet across Europe, a quieter transformation is underway, defined less by announcements and more by integration. The real test for low-carbon technologies is no longer whether they work in isolation, but whether they can operate reliably inside complex industrial ecosystems that were never designed for them. Nowhere is that challenge more visible than in the chemical industry. Chemical production sits at the centre of modern manufacturing, supplying materials that underpin everything from construction and mobility to electronics and pharmaceuticals. It is also among the most energy-intensive industrial sectors, relying heavily on hydrogen produced through conventional steam reforming processes that generate significant carbon emissions. Decarbonising chemicals therefore requires more than incremental efficiency improvements. It demands a fundamental rethinking of how core feedstocks are produced and supplied. At BASF’s Ludwigshafen site in Germany, one of the world’s largest integrated chemical complexes, this rethink has begun to take physical form through the Hy4Chem project, a large-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis installation delivered in collaboration with Siemens Energy. The facility, operating since March 2025, represents a decisive shift in how green hydrogen moves from demonstration to industrial application, not as a standalone technology but as part of an interconnected production system. Industrial decarbonisation often struggles at the point where innovation meets operational reality. Technologies that perform well in controlled environments frequently encounter resistance when introduced into facilities that operate continuously and depend on absolute reliability. The significance of Hy4Chem lies precisely in overcoming this barrier. Rather than constructing an isolated hydrogen


facility, the project integrates electrolysis directly into BASF’s existing Verbund production network, a tightly connected system in which energy flows, raw materials and by-products are continuously exchanged across multiple plants. This integration transforms hydrogen production from an external supply consideration into an intrinsic component of chemical manufacturing.


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The electrolyser operates at 54 MW and produces up to one tonne of green hydrogen per hour, equivalent to roughly 8,000 tonnes annually. Powered by renewable electricity, it enables substantial emissions reductions while supplying hydrogen as a feedstock for existing chemical processes. Embedding the system within an operational chemical complex introduces engineering challenges rarely encountered in pilot projects. Space constraints and infrastructure compatibility become defining design considerations. Ludwigshafen itself spans several kilometres, with dense networks of pipelines, logistics systems and production units already operating at scale. Integrating new energy infrastructure into such an environment requires not only technological capability but deep operational understanding. The result – CO2 savings of up to 72,000 tons per year – demonstrates that decarbonisation does not necessarily require rebuilding industry from scratch. Instead, it depends on intelligently retrofitting low-carbon technologies into existing industrial frameworks, allowing transformation to occur without sacrificing continuity of production. Public discourse frequently frames hydrogen primarily as an energy carrier for transport or power storage. In heavy industry, however, its immediate significance lies elsewhere. Hydrogen is already a foundational raw material in chemical manufacturing, used in processes ranging from ammonia synthesis to methanol production and


PROCESS & CONTROL ENGINEERING | JUNE 2026


specialty chemicals manufacturing. At Ludwigshafen alone, annual hydrogen consumption reaches hundreds of thousands of tonnes, traditionally produced using natural gas-based methods. Transitioning even a portion of this demand toward green hydrogen represents a meaningful reduction in industrial emissions while maintaining established production pathways. Hy4Chem therefore illustrates a pragmatic route to decarbonisation where existing operations are progressively supplied with lower-carbon inputs. This approach reduces technological risk while enabling gradual scaling aligned with renewable energy availability and market demand. Large-scale industrial transformation rarely occurs


through isolated innovation. Instead, it emerges through collaboration between technology providers and industrial operators, combining domain expertise with engineering capability. Hy4Chem represents this collaborative model in practice. Delivering a system capable of operating safely within an active chemical complex required coordinated engineering across multiple disciplines, including process integration, safety management, electrical infrastructure and operational optimisation. Safety considerations were central throughout the


project lifecycle. Hydrogen production and handling introduce specific operational risks, particularly when integrated into existing facilities handling complex chemical reactions. Ensuring safe commissioning and long-term reliability required rigorous planning, testing


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