German chemical giant BASF started construction of its syngas plant at the Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China, on Monday, it said.

The company will adopt unique process concepts in the syngas plant, which is scheduled to be up and running in 2025, to reduce carbon emissions compared to conventional syngas plants, contributing to BASF's sustainability goals, it said.

The facility will produce syngas and hydrogen for captive use within BASF's production Verbund, which will be BASF's largest investment with up to 10 billion euros upon completion, as well as the company's third-largest Verbund site worldwide.

According to BASF, the production technologies deployed in the syngas plant will mainly utilize carbon dioxide off-gas, a by-product of the ethylene oxide process and excess fuel gas from steam cracker operations, to manufacture syngas.

"The technical concept of this syngas plant is the first of its kind in China, underscoring our commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050," said Bir Darbar Mehta, senior vice-president of Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF.

"Compared to other technologies, these innovative process technologies help to reduce the Zhanjiang Verbund site's direct carbon dioxide emissions and particularly lower the carbon footprint of our oxo and ethylene oxide products."

Besides the above-mentioned raw materials, the syngas plant can utilize further feedstocks, ensuring more reliable production. Electricity will be supplied by the site-wide grid which is expected to be powered with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025.