On stream: BASF starts up new world-scale plant for hexamethylenediamine in Chalampé, France

BASF has announced the successful startup of its new world-scale hexamethylenediamine (HMD) plant in Chalampé, France, construction of which began in 2022. The plant increases BASF’s annual HMD production capacity to 260,000 metric tons.

“This investment underlines BASF’s strong commitment to chemical production in Europe and our determination to support regional growth. It is yet another example of how we put our ‘Winning Ways’ strategy into action to create long-term value for our company and secure our future competitiveness in a volatile economic environment,” said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF.

The plant is an essential component of BASF’s strategic path forward in its polyamide (PA) 6.6 business in Europe. In addition to starting up the new HMD plant, the company is in the final stage of expanding its PA 6.6 production in Freiburg, Germany.

“The successful completion of this investment project is a significant step towards our goal of being the leading supplier for HMD and the preferred partner for PA 6.6 in Europe,” said Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division. “Through the new HMD production plant in Chalampé and the expanded PA 6.6 polymerization in Freiburg, we are ideally positioned to supply our customers reliably with high-quality products.”

The economic and industrial platform in the Alsace region of France and the direct integration into the main raw material adiponitrile (ADN) provide an ideal setup for the production and supply of HMD. In addition to chemical production assets, BASF operates a state-of-the-art research and development laboratory as well as corresponding infrastructure dedicated to PA 6.6 research at the Chalampé site.

HMD is a precursor used in the production of high-quality PA 6.6 polymers and coatings raw materials. Among other applications, these products are used in the automotive industry as well as in the production of high-quality fibers.