BASF has started up the world’s first production plant for catalysts based on X3D® technology at its Ludwigshafen site, Germany.
With the commissioning of this facility, BASF is scaling the additive manufacturing of catalysts to an industrial level and strengthening its leading role in innovative solutions for the chemical industry.
Utilising X3D technology, catalysts can be produced with optimally designed geometries that combine high mechanical stability with an open structure. This significantly reduces pressure drop in reactors while simultaneously increasing the catalytically active surface area. As a result, customers achieve higher reactor throughput and improved product quality at substantially lower energy consumption compared to conventional catalysts.
BASF has been supplying X3D catalysts to production plants for several internal and external customers for many years. The versatile technology can be applied to a broad range of catalyst materials, including precious and base metal catalysts as well as various support materials. The new production plant in Ludwigshafen provides the foundation for making this technology more widely available and for further shortening development and market introduction timelines.
In 2025, the Chinese-based fine chemical company An Hui Jintung filled its production plant with BASF’s sulfuric acid catalysts O4-115 X3D. “The plant started up smoothly, and plant performance has significantly improved compared to before. Production achieved a record high, generating substantial economic benefits for our company. We will continue our collaboration with BASF to promote catalyst upgrades and replacements across additional units,” said Eter Zhu, General Manager at An Hui Jintung.