BASF, through its North American subsidiary, has inaugurated a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production facility at its Geismar Verbund site in Louisiana, US, following the completion of a $1bn investment project.
The project has almost doubled Geismar’s annual MDI capacity to approximately 600,000 metric tonnes.
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BASF describes it as its largest wholly owned investment project to date in North America and was completed on schedule.
MDI is essential for manufacturing polyurethanes, a material used to improve energy efficiency, durability and performance across the construction, appliance, automotive, footwear, furniture and transport sectors.
By increasing its production volume, BASF aims to meet the growing long-term demand from its North American customer base in various polyurethane-related industries.
BASF chairman of the board of executive directors Markus Kamieth said: “The US has long been a key market for BASF, and this $1bn investment is a strong commitment to our customers and to our future here.
“With our new world-scale MDI facility in Geismar, we are strengthening our core businesses, driving innovation and bringing more production closer to our customers.
“I am particularly proud that our team has delivered this complex project on time and want to thank everyone who made it possible.”
The Geismar expansion, which began in 2018, was executed in three stages.
The first phase brought a new MDI synthesis unit online in October 2020.
In 2021, the second phase led to upgrades of several upstream production units.
The third phase, which completed the project, included new upstream units and the installation of a splitter, incorporating advanced digitalisation technologies and BASF’s safety standards.
Alongside the expanded MDI operations, BASF has increased aniline production capacity at the Geismar site, further integrating its value chain and offering additional raw materials for industries such as agricultural chemicals, rubber, and dyes and pigments.
The Geismar Verbund facility is BASF’s largest integrated site in the US and benefits from established infrastructure and reliable access to materials.
The latest expansion phase, announced in July 2022, accounted for $780m of the investment.
The entire project is aimed at maintaining competitive and secure supplies of MDI to BASF’s US customers.
In July 2025, BASF signed a strategic ten-year agreement with Equinor, securing an annual supply of up to 23TWh of natural gas, equivalent to two billion cubic metres.
