- Construct and install steel and piping as well as installation and insulation work for BASF’s new production plant for battery materials in Harjavalta, Finland
- Contract period: May 2020 to September 2021
Bilfinger supports BASF Battery Materials Finland Oy in building a plant for precursor cathode active materials (pCAM) in Harjavalta, Finland. Cathode active materials (CAM) are used as a base material for battery cell manufacturing. Bilfinger Industrial Services is installing around 4,000 tons of steel structures for the production building, ancillary buildings and piping bridges at the plant. Bilfinger's experts will also prefabricate and install piping systems, install equipment and machinery and carry out insulation and painting work. Bilfinger began its work in May 2020 and is expected to continue on the project until September 2021.
“The growing need for mobility and climate protection creates many challenges, but at the same time provides vast opportunities to develop innovative technologies that address them, as demonstrated by our customer BASF,” says Dr. Friedrich Schneider, CEO at Bilfinger Industrial Services GmbH. “We are helping our customers solve the challenges and take advantage of these opportunities with a comprehensive range of services.”
The world's largest chemical company BASF is a leading producer of CAM. The advanced materials used for the cathode in batteries can reduce charging times while at the same time extending the real driving range and service life of a battery. In the future, BASF wants to supply battery materials from European, resource-friendly production sites for around 400,000 fully electric vehicles every year.
“Bilfinger is one of the reliable partners we have been looking for to accompany us on our path to become a world-leading supplier of high-energy CAM,” says Daniel Schönfelder, Vice President, Battery Materials Europe at BASF. “Their strict adherence to schedules and budgets is a critical factor in ensuring that a key step in the construction of the Harjavalta production plant is completed as planned and that a European network for battery materials is established.”
Electromobility continues to experience strong growth worldwide. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the number of electric cars will increase from roughly 3 million worldwide in 2017 to about 250 million in 2030 (source: Global EV Outlook 2019, p. 7). Demand for the chemicals used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles will increase accordingly.
Bilfinger Industrial Services has been a leader in industrial plant, pipeline and steel construction for decades. As Austria's largest industrial services provider with 10 sites in the country and additional sites in neighboring countries, Bilfinger Industrial Services delivers a comprehensive range of engineering, plant construction, general overhauls, maintenance and dismantling services to its customers from a single source. The contract for the Harjavalta plant is Bilfinger Industrial Services' first collaboration with BASF. Bilfinger Industrial Services is part of the Bilfinger Group headquartered in Mannheim, Germany.