LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany — Larger than Lower Manhattan, the sprawling BASF chemical plant on the Rhine River is a symbol of both German industrial might and how much Europe’s largest economy has to lose in its worst energy crisis in generations.
On any given day, the plant uses more power than Switzerland as it churns out everything from rubber for sneakers to coatings for cars. But the fallout from the war in Ukraine is exacting a high price. During the second quarter of the year alone, sky-high natural gas prices jolted the company’s energy bill up by the equivalent of $776 million.
To contain costs, the plant has begun streamlining operations and cutting high-energy production of ammonia for fertilizers — compounding a fertilizer shortage on the continent that is threatening the global food supply. Should energy availability in Germany turn critical in the coming months, Chief Executive Martin Brudermüller has warned, the company may have to shift more production to “plants outside of Europe.”
“We have a war on our doorstep in Europe and an unprecedented energy crisis that is threatening the very existence of Europe’s industrial production,” Brudermüller told chemical industry executives last week. He added, “many of our value chains are breaking up as we speak.”
Russia’s revival of war in Europe has prompted seismic shifts in Germany. In the early days of the invasion, the German government moved away from a posture of military restraint adopted in the shadow of World War II. Officials announced a dramatic increase of defense spending and dropped opposition to weapons deliveries to conflict zones.