BASF to shut down adipic acid production at Ludwigshafen next year

LONDON (ICIS)–BASF is to end production of adipic acid and several downstream units at Ludwigshafen, Germany, as part of structural changes underway at the site, the company said on Thursday.

Production of adipic acid will conclude at the site over the course of 2025, while units to manufacture cyclododecanone (CDon) and cyclopentanone (CPon), which utilize adipic acid as a raw material, will cease in the first half of the year.

The company is planning to cut around €1 billion in costs from the site, with new CEO Markus Kamieth expected to fully set out what steps will be taken at the company’s capital markets day in September this year.

The company had already cut back adipic acid production capacity at the site in 2023, but had kept a some capacity onstream to feed into those downstream units.

BASF expects to cease deliveries of CDon and CPon, which are used in nylon 12 and pharmaceuticals production respectively, and is in talks with customers, the company added.

It will continue to produce adipic acid in Onsan, South Korea, and Chalampe, France, BASF added.

The decision was taken as part of the ongoing strategic review of site operations to “ensure competitiveness under changing market conditions”, the company said in a statement.

Around 180 workers will be affected by the closures, with BASF planning to explore the possibility of employment positions elsewhere within the group.

“These closures are part of the development of a long-term target picture for the transformation of the Ludwigshafen site,” said BASF industrial relations director Katja Schwarpwinkel.

Thumbnail photo: BASF’s Ludwigshafen, Germany production complex. Picture source: BASF

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