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Nordlicht is now Vattenfall’s second major offshore wind farm project in which BASF is a partner. In 2021, BASF acquired almost half of the shares in the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

Vattenfall and BASF have agreed to sell 49 percent of Vattenfall’s Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms to BASF. The Nordlicht wind project is being developed in German waters in the North Sea without government subsidies. With a total installed capacity of 1.6 gigawatts, it will be the largest offshore wind farm project ever undertaken by Vattenfall.

The Swedish energy company is responsible for the development and construction of the Nordlicht facilities and plans to use its share of the future electricity production to supply German customers with fossil-free electricity. BASF will allocate its 49 percent share of the electricity production to its chemical plants in Europe, especially in Ludwigshafen.

Martin Brudermüller, CEO of BASF, said: “BASF is on track with its transformation. With the investments in Nordlicht 1 and 2, we now have sufficient renewable energy to implement further steps of this transformation in Europe, especially at our largest site in Ludwigshafen. Together with our long-standing partner Vattenfall, we are creating the conditions to achieve our 2030 goal of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 25 percent compared to 2018.

Anna Borg, President and CEO of Vattenfall, said: “Offshore wind energy makes a significant contribution to Europe’s energy transition and should replace fossil fuels on a large scale. Partnership cooperation plays a crucial role in transforming the European industry while increasing competitiveness. We are pleased to deepen our relationship with BASF with another important offshore wind project. Together, we are accelerating the transition to fossil-free energy.

The Nordlicht wind farms are located 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum in the German part of the North Sea. There are two separate wind farms: Nordlicht 1 with a capacity of approximately 980 megawatts and Nordlicht 2 with a capacity of approximately 630 megawatts. When fully operational, they are expected to produce around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1.6 million German households. Following the final investment decision, which is expected in 2025, construction of Nordlicht 1 and 2 could begin in 2026. The wind farms are expected to be fully operational by 2028.

The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.