Basf Plans To Restart 300,000 Tonnes Of TDI Equipment In Germany

Basf plans to restart its 300,000-tonne per year toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, by the end of October, according to sources.Basf declared force majeure on August 31 after the device ran into technical problems.

Basf has since tried to restart the plant, but without success."They will try again in two to three days," said one market participant.The company had planned to overhaul its TDI plant for three months this year, but the overhaul was postponed to March 2021 due to COVID-19."Force majeure remains at our TDI plant in Ludwigshafen," a BASF spokesman said.

The force majeure at Ludwigshafen exacerbated tensions in the global TDI market.This is not only because of supply problems, but also because demand was particularly strong in the third quarter.Early signs in the fourth quarter suggest that off-take volumes continue to strengthen.

Basf began operations in November 2015 after investing more than 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) to build the Ludwigshafen TDI installation.Since then, the plant has not continued to operate at optimum capacity and has encountered different production and technical problems, resulting in delays and shutdowns.In April, the company stopped production of its 80,000 ton/year TDI unit at its base in Schwaltzhead, southern Germany.

TDI demand collapsed in the second quarter, with total European demand falling by as much as 80 per cent in April, as consumers cut back on spending on soft polyurethane foam due to COVID-19 and related blockades.In Western Europe, soft polyurethane foam is used mainly for mattresses and furniture.