BASF’s 2025 Carbon Capture Strategy: From Technology Licensing to Market Dominance

Industry Adoption: How BASF is Shaping the 2025 Carbon Capture Market

Between 2021 and 2024, BASF meticulously laid the groundwork to become a pivotal technology provider in the carbon capture market. The company’s strategy focused on validating its diverse portfolio of gas treatment solutions across critical, hard-to-abate sectors. Its OASE® white technology was selected for bp’s H2Teesside blue hydrogen project, targeting a capture rate of up to 99.99%, while the HiPACT® technology, promising cost reductions of up to 35%, was chosen for INPEX’s blue ammonia project in Japan. This period was also marked by a significant technological leap with the commercial-scale, multi-ton production of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for solid-sorbent leader Svante, signaling BASF’s expansion beyond traditional liquid amines. These moves established BASF not just as a solvent supplier, but as a core enabler for decarbonizing hydrogen, cement, and ammonia production.

The period from 2025 to the present reveals a crucial strategic inflection point. While continuing to secure licensing agreements for its proven OASE® blue technology, BASF has refined its market approach to prioritize a capital-light model. The decision in March 2025 to shelve a planned €1 billion investment in a CCS plant at its own Antwerp site was a landmark move, signaling a decisive shift away from the risks of facility ownership. This pivot is validated by a subsequent flurry of licensing deals: providing OASE® blue to ANDRITZ for a waste-to-energy plant in Denmark, to Forestal del Atlántico for e-methanol production in Spain, and to CCAT for a power plant pilot in Taiwan. Concurrently, BASF is de-risking its next-generation technology pipeline through high-profile collaborations, most notably the partnership with ExxonMobil to build a demonstration plant for methane pyrolysis. This two-pronged strategy—aggressively licensing mature technologies while co-developing future ones—allows BASF to maximize market penetration and participate in a CCUS market projected to grow at a 23.06% CAGR, all while mitigating direct exposure to the immense capital expenditure of large-scale infrastructure.

Table: BASF’s Strategic Capital Allocation in Carbon Management

Table: BASF’s Web of CCUS Collaborations

Geography: BASF’s Global CCUS Footprint

Between 2021 and 2024, BASF’s geographic strategy was concentrated on de-risking its technology in established industrial clusters with supportive policy frameworks. Europe was the clear epicenter, with the landmark Kairos@C project in Antwerp, Belgium, and technology deployments for blue hydrogen in Teesside, UK, and cement in Lengfurt, Germany. These locations provided access to dense industrial emitters and public funding like the EU Innovation Fund. Parallel entries were made into other key markets, including Asia via the INPEX blue ammonia project in Japan and North America through collaborations like the Houston CCUS hub initiative and pilot testing in Illinois. This initial phase was about proving commercial viability in mature, high-emission industrial heartlands.

From 2025 onwards, BASF’s geographic activity shows a distinct expansion from core hubs to new growth frontiers. While Europe remains a key market with new projects in Denmark (Aarhus waste-to-energy) and Spain (Mugardos e-methanol), the focus has clearly broadened. The partnership with ExxonMobil establishes a crucial technology development site in Baytown, Texas, a major U.S. energy and chemical hub. More significantly, BASF is penetrating new Asian markets, moving beyond Japan to secure a pilot project in Taiwan’s power sector and joining a major CCUS consortium in East China. This geographic diversification signals that BASF’s technology is now considered a bankable solution ready for deployment in emerging CCUS markets, moving the company from a regional champion to a global technology licensor. The primary risk in this expansion is navigating the diverse regulatory landscapes and nascent infrastructure of эти new regions.

Technology Maturity: BASF’s Pipeline from Commercial Scale to Next-Gen R&D

The 2021-2024 period was defined by the large-scale commercial validation of BASF’s core solvent technologies. OASE® (blue and white) and HiPACT® transitioned from proven solutions to being the specified technology in world-scale commercial projects. The agreements with bp for the H2Teesside plant (1.2 GW of hydrogen) and INPEX for Japan’s first blue ammonia facility confirmed these technologies as mature, bankable options for industrial decarbonization. The most significant development in this period was the advancement of next-generation materials: BASF became the first to achieve multi-ton commercial-scale production of MOFs, supplying them to Svante. This moved MOF-based solid sorbents from the lab to a commercially scalable manufacturing process, positioning BASF as a key supplier for the next wave of capture technology.

In 2025, BASF’s technology strategy has matured into a two-speed approach. The first track involves the rapid, widespread deployment of its fully commercialized OASE® platform into new applications. Projects in waste-to-energy (ANDRITZ) and e-methanol production (Forestal) demonstrate the technology’s versatility and its readiness for plug-and-play adoption across the CCUS spectrum. The second, more forward-looking track focuses on advancing the next frontier of carbon management. The partnership with ExxonMobil to build a methane pyrolysis demonstration plant is the critical validation point for this “turquoise” hydrogen technology, moving it from the pilot stage toward commercial readiness. Industrial-scale production of MOFs has now been achieved, meaning the technology is no longer in development but is ready for market deployment as soon as partners like Svante secure large-scale projects. This demonstrates a clear, strategic pipeline: fully commercialize today’s proven technologies while actively demonstrating and de-risking the breakthrough solutions of tomorrow.

Table: SWOT Analysis of BASF’s CCUS Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights and Summary

The data from 2025 paints a clear picture of BASF’s go-forward strategy in carbon capture: dominate the market as a technology enabler, not an asset owner. The company is pursuing a sophisticated, two-track approach that energy executives and investors must watch closely. The first track involves an aggressive commercial rollout of its mature OASE® platform. Expect to see a continued stream of licensing agreements in sectors that have recently proven viable, such as waste-to-energy and e-methanol production. The success of the ANDRITZ and Forestal projects serves as a repeatable template for global expansion.

The second, and arguably more strategic, track involves the maturation of next-generation technologies. The single most critical signal to watch is the progress of the methane pyrolysis demonstration plant with ExxonMobil in Baytown. A successful outcome, achieving its target of 2,000 tons of low-emission hydrogen per year, would validate a disruptive new pathway for hydrogen production and position BASF as a key player. Likewise, the first commercial-scale deployments of Svante’s capture technology using BASF’s MOF sorbents will be a crucial test for the market viability of solid-sorbent systems. Conversely, what’s losing steam is the model of chemical companies leading massive, high-CAPEX CCUS infrastructure projects. The shelving of the Antwerp investment and cancellation of the Yara project are powerful signals that BASF has found a more profitable, lower-risk role as the chemical and materials brain behind the world’s growing carbon management industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is BASF focusing on licensing its technology instead of building its own carbon capture plants?
BASF has adopted a “capital-light” strategy to maximize market penetration while minimizing risk. Building and owning large-scale Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) facilities, like the shelved €1 billion Antwerp project, requires immense capital expenditure and carries significant project execution risks. By licensing its proven technologies (like OASE®), BASF can generate revenue from a wide range of partners across multiple industries and geographies without being directly exposed to the high costs and complexities of infrastructure ownership.

What are the main carbon capture technologies in BASF’s portfolio?
BASF offers a diverse range of technologies. Its core commercial products are its OASE® amine-based solvents: OASE® blue is used for capturing CO2 from flue gas in sectors like power, cement, and waste-to-energy, while OASE® white is optimized for blue hydrogen production. For next-generation solutions, BASF is the first to mass-produce metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a solid sorbent supplied to partners like Svante. Furthermore, it is pioneering “turquoise” hydrogen by co-developing methane pyrolysis technology with ExxonMobil.

The article mentions BASF shelved a major project in Antwerp. Does this mean the company is less committed to CCUS?
On the contrary, the decision reflects a strategic sharpening, not a reduced commitment. By canceling its own high-CAPEX plant, BASF pivoted away from being an asset owner to focus on being a pure-play technology provider. This move, followed by a series of new licensing deals in different sectors, demonstrates a commitment to a more scalable and profitable role in the CCUS market. Their strategy is to enable many projects globally rather than funding one of their own.

What is the most important future development to watch in BASF’s carbon management strategy?
The progress of the methane pyrolysis demonstration plant with ExxonMobil is the most critical signal to watch. This technology creates “turquoise” hydrogen from natural gas, producing solid carbon instead of CO2 gas, which could be a disruptive new pathway for low-emission hydrogen. A successful demonstration would validate this technology and position BASF as a key enabler in an entirely new segment of the hydrogen economy.

How is BASF’s geographic focus for carbon capture changing?
Initially, BASF focused on proving its technology in established industrial clusters with supportive policies, primarily in Europe (Belgium, UK, Germany) and Japan. Since 2025, its footprint has expanded globally. While Europe remains a core market, BASF has secured new projects in emerging CCUS regions like Taiwan (power sector), expanded in the US (technology development in Texas), and deepened its presence in China through a major industrial consortium. This shows a shift from regional validation to global commercial deployment.