BASF’s Ludwigshafen complex is the world’s largest chemical production site, covering 10 km² and employing 39,000 people. The complex relies on a dedicated 110 kV industrial to power critical production processes (e.g., chemical synthesis, distillation, packaging), which require uninterrupted power supply to maintain product quality and safety. The legacy control relays presented significant operational challenges:
- Slow Fault Response Causes Extended Production Downtime: The legacy relays had a fault detection and isolation time of 6-8 seconds, leading to widespread power outages in the complex. This occurred 15-18 times annually, with an average production downtime of 2 hours per incident—costing €4.8 million in annual lost production revenue.
- Poor Coordination Between Production Systems: The old relays couldn’t communicate with BASF’s production control system (PCS), leading to uncoordinated shutdowns of critical equipment during power faults. This caused product contamination and rework costs of €1.2 million annually.
- Vulnerability to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): The chemical production processes generate high levels of EMI, which disrupted the operation of legacy relays. This led to false fault alarms 8-10 times monthly, requiring unnecessary shutdowns and increasing maintenance workload.
- Limited Diagnostic Capabilities Delay Maintenance: The legacy systems lacked real-time diagnostic features, requiring technicians to perform time-consuming on-site troubleshooting to identify relay issues. This delayed maintenance by 4-6 hours, prolonging production downtime.
“Uninterrupted power supply is critical for our chemical production processes—even a short outage can lead to significant product losses and safety risks,” said Frank Weber, BASF Ludwigshafen Plant Operations Director. “Our legacy relays were too slow and unreliable to protect our industrial power grid. We needed a robust control relay solution that could deliver fast fault response, seamless integration with our production systems, and resistance to EMI.”
ABB REC670 Control Relay: Robust Protection for Industrial配电网
After evaluating solutions from Schneider Electric and Eaton, BASF selected the ABB REC670 control relay for its ultra-fast fault response, seamless PCS integration, EMI resistance, and advanced diagnostic capabilities. Key features addressing BASF’s pain points include:
- Ultra-Fast Fault Detection & Isolation: The ABB REC670 control relay detects and isolates faults in <20 milliseconds, minimizing the scope of power outages in the industrial配电网. This reduces average production downtime per incident from 2 hours to 20 minutes.
- Seamless Integration with Production Control Systems: The relay integrates with BASF’s PCS via IEC 61850 and Modbus TCP protocols, enabling coordinated shutdowns of production equipment during power faults. This prevents product contamination and eliminates rework costs.
- Industrial-Grade EMI Resistance: The REC670 is engineered to withstand high levels of EMI per IEC 61000-6-4 standards, with shielded communication ports and surge protection (±4 kV). This eliminates false fault alarms and ensures reliable operation in the chemical production environment.
- Advanced Remote Diagnostics & Monitoring: The relay transmits real-time operational data and fault logs to BASF’s remote monitoring center, enabling technicians to troubleshoot issues remotely. Predictive diagnostic algorithms detect potential relay malfunctions 3-5 weeks in advance, reducing on-site maintenance by 75%.
- Rugged Design for Industrial Environments: The relay features an IP66-rated enclosure, resistance to extreme temperatures (-40°C to 70°C), and protection against chemical vapors—critical for operation in a chemical complex. Its solid-state design ensures long-term reliability with an MTBF of 15 years.
Results: Reliable Power Supply, Reduced Production Downtime
Six months after deploying the ABB REC670 control relay, BASF’s Ludwigshafen chemical complex achieved significant operational improvements:
| Metric |
Before ABB REC670 Control Relay |
After ABB REC670 Control Relay |
Improvement |
| Annual Power Outages |
15-18 |
3-4 |
78% Reduction |
| Average Production Downtime per Outage |
2 Hours |
20 Minutes |
83% Reduction |
| Annual Lost Production Revenue |
€4.8 Million |
€1.06 Million |
78% Reduction |
| Annual Product Rework Costs |
€1.2 Million |
€0 |
100% Elimination |
| Monthly False Fault Alarms |
8-10 |
0-1 |
94% Reduction |
“The ABB REC670 control relay has transformed our industrial power grid reliability,” Weber said. “We’ve achieved a dramatic reduction in power outages and production downtime, which has significantly improved our operational efficiency and profitability. The seamless integration with our production control system has also eliminated product rework costs, ensuring consistent product quality.”
Markus Schmidt, ABB’s Global Industrial Automation Manager, commented: “Industrial facilities require control relays that can deliver fast, reliable protection in harsh environments while integrating with production systems. The ABB REC670 is designed to meet these demanding requirements, helping industrial operators enhance power supply reliability, reduce costs, and improve safety.”
BASF plans to deploy the ABB REC670 control relay across 25 additional chemical production sites in Europe, Asia, and North America by 2039, targeting an 80% group-wide reduction in power-related production downtime and a 75% decrease in lost production revenue.
