Spanning 4 km², the site represents one of BASF’s most advanced industrial projects to date, enabling the company to serve a broad spectrum of end markets and reinforcing its role as a key supplier of raw materials and performance components for the coatings industry.
The multinational BASF has officially opened its new world‑scale integrated Verbund site in Zhanjiang (China), reinforcing its leadership in one of the world’s most important growth markets for chemicals and raw materials for coatings.
The Zhanjiang site employs more than 2,000 people and will produce a broad array of basic chemicals, intermediates and specialty products, many of which are directly relevant to the paints and coatings industry, from key monomers and resins to performance additives and polymers used in decorative, protective and industrial coatings.
In line with BASF’s local‑for‑local approach, most products from Zhanjiang will be supplied to customers within China’s vast coatings and formulation sectors, helping to ensure robust supply chains for decorative paints, automotive coatings, and specialty coatings.
“The site’s contributions to sustainable manufacturing. Using integrated Verbund technology, advanced process innovations and renewable energy, the facility can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 50 % compared with conventional petrochemical operations. A long‑term green power purchase agreement together with investments in an offshore wind farm mean the site’s electricity will be 100 % from renewable source,” has stated Stephan Kothrade, CTO of BASF SE and Regional Head for Asia Pacific.
Critically for downstream industries such as coatings, the Zhanjiang steam cracker, capable of producing 1 million tonnes of ethylene annually, is the world’s first cracker with main compressors driven entirely by renewable power. Its flexible feedstock capability (processing naphtha, butane and others) enhances reliability and product versatility for resin and polymer precursors used in high‑performance paints and coatings.