BASF expands capacities for Neopor® foam

BASF is expanding its production capacities for the innovative insulation foam Neopor® in Ludwigshafen and will start producing the foam for the first time in South Korea. Neopor® needs less material to achieve the same insulation quality as Styropor®, thus making a key contribution to energy efficiency and climate protection.
The Neopor® capacities in Ludwigshafen will gradually increase from 60,000 to 190,000 metric tons per year. A part of these capacities will come from switching existing Styropor® production to Neopor®. The first expansion up to 100,000 metric tons per year will already be completed at the start of 2008. A new plant will be built for the additional 90,000 metric tons, which will most likely be operational at the end of 2008. Ulsan, South Korea, will soon become the second global production site for Neopor® and will serve the regional market. In the past, the material for this market was imported from Germany.
“We have established Neopor® as an innovative product in the market and created added value for our customers as well as for private homebuilders due to the material’s high energy efficiency,” said Hans W. Reiners, President of BASF Styrenics division. “Our goal is to provide the most modern forms of insulation materials in the future through further research and development.”
Neopor® made by BASF represents the basis for a new generation of thermal insulation materials. The silver-grey foamed granules are used to manufacture insulation panels for walls and roofs. Neopor® is chemically a further development of the well-known Styropor® (EPS: expandable polystyrene), and provides a significantly improved insulation quality. The granules contain special, small graphite bits, which reflect the heat waves like a mirror, thus reducing heat loss in the house.
“The building boom has made it possible for BASF, as pacesetter in the market, to further increase its sales of efficient insulation products. The expansion and the new plant mean we can offer our customers a highly reliable supply and better serve ongoing strong demand,” said Clemens Willée, head of BASF’s Styrenics business in Europe. “And the innovation potential of Neopor® has not yet been fully realised.”
Nearly a third of primary energy in Germany is used for the heating or cooling of private households. New, energy efficient buildings or the renovation of badly insulated old buildings could reduce energy use without leading to a loss in quality of life and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. Neopor can play an important role here.
For example: If an old residential building, which uses 25 litres of heating oil per square metre per year, is insulated so that only seven litres are necessary, the inhabitants of a 80 square metre flat in this building would save per year about 1,440 litres of heating oil and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4,600 kg. The energy needed to manufacture the Neopor® insulation foam - nearly 1,000 litres of heating oil based on a 80 square metre living area - is already saved after the first heating season.
BASF has built several low energy houses worldwide using Neopor®. For the first time in Germany, the company modernised an old building into a 3-litre house in Ludwigshafen as part of a pilot project.

Email: chris.wilson@basf.com