From March 24 to 26, BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund Site Supplier Day and Full Operation Ceremony were held successively on Donghai Island in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund Site is the first wholly foreign-owned project in China’s heavy chemical industry. It is also BASF’s largest-ever investment project and its third-largest Verbund production site worldwide. The full operation of the Zhanjiang Verbund Site marks a major milestone in BASF’s strategic development in China. As a strategic partner of BASF, Sunpower Tech Group was invited to attend the event, represented by Guo Hongxin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Sunpower Tech Group.
During the construction of the project, Sunpower focused on high-end equipment and energy-saving and environmental protection technology services, providing strong support for the project and participating deeply in its development. The company successively undertook the manufacture of core equipment, including large-scale gas-gas heat exchangers, nickel and zirconium heat exchangers, reactors and towers. In response to the project’s demanding technical requirements, including high parameters, severe operating conditions, special materials and complex structures, Sunpower leveraged its innovation in high-efficiency heat transfer technology, continuous optimization of special material processing techniques, and full-process quality control system to support efficient project progress and high-quality delivery.
For this project, BASF selected a Chinese supplier to manufacture zirconium equipment for the first time. Due to its special material properties, complex manufacturing process, and high requirements for welding and quality control, zirconium equipment has long been regarded as an important indicator of advanced manufacturing capabilities in high-end special-material chemical equipment. Sunpower successfully completed the development and manufacture of the relevant equipment, further demonstrating the company’s technical accumulation and manufacturing strength in high-end domestic special-material chemical equipment, as well as the high level of mutual trust built upon the long-term cooperation between the two sides. Based on its technological innovation capabilities and project delivery performance, Sunpower was awarded BASF’s Outstanding Equipment Supplier Award.
In addition to high-end equipment, Sunpower also undertook the flare system for BASF Zhanjiang’s CITRAL CLUSTER FLARE S8100 project. For a large-scale integrated petrochemical base, the flare system is an important safety facility that ensures the safe operation of the plant. It is also essential infrastructure for maintaining system stability, production continuity and environmental compliance. Among its key components, the pilot burner in the flare ignition system plays a critical role in ensuring the safe and stable operation of the flare system. Its ability to maintain continuous and stable combustion directly determines whether waste gas can be ignited and treated in a timely and efficient manner, which is vital to the safety of the plant, personnel and surrounding environment.
Zhanjiang is located in a coastal area and is frequently affected by typhoons. Taking into account the environmental characteristics of the project location, BASF put forward higher technical requirements for the flare ignition system, requiring the pilot burner to maintain safe and stable operation under wind speeds of 160 mph, or 71.5 m/s. In response to this requirement, Sunpower’s R&D team developed a systematic, complete and controllable implementation plan covering product selection, process optimization, and the customized construction of testing platforms. The team further optimized and upgraded the original product in terms of fuel compatibility, rain resistance and nitrogen resistance. Test results showed that all indicators of the CITRAL CLUSTER FLARE S8100 flare ignition system met the application requirements, successfully achieving safe and stable operation under wind speeds of 160 mph and earning high recognition from the customer.
The BASF Zhanjiang Verbund Site project is an important reflection of the continued deepening of the long-term strategic cooperation between Sunpower and BASF. Over the years, Sunpower has maintained close strategic cooperation with BASF and has participated in the development and manufacture of equipment for a number of major domestic and overseas projects, including Yangzi-BASF Verbund, Malaysia Lemongrass & Menthol, U.S. MDI, Chongqing MDI and Germany Verbund projects. Sunpower’s major technical equipment has been deployed across multiple BASF production sites worldwide, including Ludwigshafen in Germany. To date, the company has supplied more than 1,000 units of equipment to BASF, playing an active role in several key production processes and continuously supporting the customer in optimizing production processes, improving operational efficiency and enhancing system stability, while creating comprehensive value through green development.
Among these projects, in BASF’s Malaysia Lemongrass project, the dividing wall column manufactured by Sunpower is one of the project’s key core pieces of equipment. It is also the largest dividing wall column installed at any BASF production site worldwide. The equipment was shipped from Nanjing, China to Kuantan, Malaysia, crossing approximately 2,500 nautical miles before successful delivery. This fully demonstrated Sunpower’s comprehensive capabilities in super-large high-end towers, complex-structure equipment and international project execution.
From serving a single piece of core equipment to deeply participating in the construction of a world-class Verbund site; from high-end equipment to “Efficiency-oriented Environmental Protection” technology services; and from domestic projects to a global footprint, Sunpower Tech Group has always adhered to a development path of specialization, high-end manufacturing and internationalization. The company continues to win customer trust through technological innovation and high-quality delivery, while continuously enhancing its core competitiveness through cooperation with world-class enterprises.
At present, China’s national policy direction has further emphasized accelerating the development of a modern industrial system, advancing new industrialization, and developing a green and low-carbon economy. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China clearly states that economic development should remain focused on the real economy, with continued emphasis on intelligent, green and integrated development. It also calls for accelerating the building of China into a manufacturing powerhouse, promoting the high-end development of the manufacturing sector, and coordinating carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and economic growth under the guidance of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The high-end, green and intensive development direction embodied by BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund Site is highly aligned with China’s policy orientation of building a modern industrial system and promoting green and low-carbon transformation. Sunpower’s deep participation in this project is a concrete practice of the company’s continued commitment to high-end equipment and energy-saving and environmental protection technology services, as well as its contribution to the high-quality development of the real economy.
Looking ahead, Sunpower Tech Group will remain focused on its core businesses, continuously enhance its capabilities in the R&D and manufacturing of high-end core equipment, and strengthen its system solution capabilities for energy conservation and emission reduction. Guided by its philosophy of “Efficiency-oriented Environmental Protection,” Sunpower will continue to support global customers in achieving safe production, green development, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement through more advanced technologies and higher-quality services, contributing further to the high-end and green development of the manufacturing industry.
