A BASF battery factory is on the brink. The reason is concerns about environmental protection. The employees should be released.
Ludwigshafen/Harjavalta – The chemical company BASF has declared the battery business to be one of its most important growth markets. However, a crucial investment is at risk. According to a court ruling, a factory in the Finnish town of Harjavalta is at stake. Due to a lack of permits, the group is considering indefinite leave of absence for all employees there. BASF announced this on Thursday, April 11th. Accordingly, a high double-digit number of employees are affected.
After complaints from environmentalists, an administrative court in February 2024 suspended an environmental permit that had only been granted at the end of 2023. As a result, among other things, test runs in the system are not possible, a company spokesman said. According to BASF, the further postponement and uncertainty will have long-term financial implications. The group therefore has to adapt operations in Harjavalta and reduce costs.
Because of open questions regarding environmental protection: BASF loses its operating license and closes the battery plant
BASF has had problems with the factory in Harjavalta since the start. A provisional operating license was withdrawn in 2020 after complaints from environmental organizations. Since then, permissions have been repeatedly challenged in court, a company spokesman said. “We are disappointed that we received different signals from the authorities and administrative courts,” said responsible person Tomi Oja to the
FAZ
. In the battery market, speed and planning security are essential.
However, environmental organizations criticize the BASF plant for its lack of precautions to retain the sodium sulfate produced during production. Without cleaning or treatment, discharge into the Baltic Sea would be “acutely toxic” for brackish water fish and bottom animals, the
FAZ
quotes the environmental organization “Clean Sea Association”.
Environmental protection organizations are demanding action from BASF - but the company first wants a commitment
It is unacceptable that the Baltic Sea becomes a garbage dump for the battery industry. Environmentalists explained that there are technical options to prevent this. In other battery factories, the sodium sulfate is recovered and used as a raw material for fertilizers.
To do this, BASF would have to expand the plant. The group may be willing to do this, reports the
FAZ
with reference to a spokesman. According to the report, however, the group states the condition of first obtaining a “long-term, no longer contestable approval”. The construction of such a plant would delay the start of production by another two years.
BASF initially delivered the contaminated wastewater to another company for disposal. However, environmentalists report that a large part of this has also been pumped into the Baltic Sea. A court therefore revoked the operating license. According to
the FAZ
, another court must now decide when and under what conditions BASF will receive an unlimited permit.
BASF battery production in Schwarzheide should not be affected by the stop in Finland
At the Finnish plant, BASF wants to process nickel from Russian mines into precursors for cathodes, one of the main components of batteries. The preliminary product is intended for production in Schwarzheide, Brandenburg. The Ludwigshafen-based group wants to expand its production capacity of cathode material to 190 kilotons by the end of 2024.
Production in Schwarzheide in Lusatia should not suffer from the problems in Harjavalta. Their supply of intermediate products for the production of cathode materials is secured by other suppliers. (ms/dpa)