Page 167 - CW E-Magazine (3-12-2024)

News from Abroad

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Vulcan and BASF partner to reduce emissions

at Ludwigshafen site

Australian integrated lithium and consider renewable heat sources from
renewable energy firm, Vulcan and geothermal structures. In Vulcan, we
BASF have signed a memorandum of have a partner on board who has the
understanding to explore the use of necessary technological expertise in
geothermal energy at the German exploiting geothermal heat to plan and
chemical company’s Ludwigshafen site implement such a complex project,”
as part of a strategic partnership. said Mr. Uwe Liebelt, President
European Verbund Sites, BASF.
The partners aim to jointly evalu-
ate opportunities for harnessing natural battery and automotive industries as “Our aim is to realise project models
heat from deep geothermal sources part of the project. The geothermally like this one with BASF that will allow
to supply BASF’s largest site with heated water in the Upper Rhine Graben us to both harness geothermal energy
renewable energy capable of meeting boasts a high concentration of this light and extract carbon-neutral lithium along
base load power requirements in the metal. BASF would first use the hot the length of the Upper Rhine Valley.
future. The surrounding urban centres thermal water to generate steam, Vul- The associated reliable supply of heating
of Frankenthal and Ludwigshafen also can would then extract lithium using a for the region’s population would also
stand to benefit from the sustainable resource-efficient process known as ad- deliver an important locational advan-
heat and are participating in the neces- sorption-type direct lithium extraction tage,” explained Mr. Thorsten Weimann,
sary seismic surveys as a first step. In (A-DLE). With this in mind, the two Chief Development Officer at Vulcan
order to make optimal use of synergy partners are currently examining the Energie Ressourcen GmbH. The next
effects from the project, Vulcan plans possibility of building a lithium extrac- step is to carry out a seismic survey to
to build a lithium extraction plant for tion plant at BASF’s site at a later date. investigate the geothermal conditions in
the production of green lithium. a subregion of the Upper Rhine Graben.
“We want to supply our Lud- Vulcan will be the active project deve-
The geology of the Upper Rhine wigshafen site with CO -free steam in loper, carrying out the exploration and
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Graben gives the Rhine Valley region the future. In addition to harnessing acting as the technical lead. The initial
enormous geothermal potential. Assum- the waste heat from our production exploratory work is currently scheduled
ing that the exploratory work is success- facilities, where possible, we want to to begin in early 2025.
ful, heat pumps could be used to take
advantage of the area’s geothermal LIFE SCIENCE COLLABORATION
energy to generate CO -free steam. With DKSH and Abcam to partner
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a potential output of 300 megawatts of
thermal energy, around 4-million metric in Vietnam
tons of this crucial energy carrier for the
chemical industry could be produced at Swiss market expansion services highly validated antibodies, assays, and
the BASF site in Ludwigshafen every firm, DKSH, has announced a strategic other research tools that are essential for
year – without the use of fossil fuels. collaboration with Abcam, a life science studying critical biological pathways. Its
This would prevent the emission of company, to enhance the distribution and products are widely used in drug discovery,
approximately 800,000 metric tons of accessibility of the wide array of pro- diagnostics, and basic research, parti-
CO , making a significant contribution ducts designed to support life science re- cularly in areas like cancer, neurological
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to reducing greenhouse gas emissions search in Vietnam. Under the terms of the disorders, and infectious diseases. By
at BASF’s main site. agreement, DKSH will extend its sales leveraging DKSH’s distribution network
and marketing, application support, and and market expertise, this partnership
In addition to providing renewable after-sales services to cater to the market. will streamline access to Abcam’s pro-
heat, Vulcan plans to produce sustainable ducts for academia, laboratories, and
lithium for the German and European Abcam provides a diverse range of research institutions across Vietnam.

Chemical Weekly December 3, 2024 167

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