https://lanxess.com/en/media/press-releases/2026/08/lanxess-powers-large-scale-plant-with-hydrogen
LANXESS is making its production at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site more sustainable. The specialty chemicals company will use hydrogen instead of natural gas to dry its iron oxide pigments. This will make the spray dryer one of the first large-scale industrial plants in Germany to use hydrogen as a fuel in continuous operation. LANXESS will thereby reduce its carbon footprint by about 6,000 metric tons per year.
The hydrogen is produced during chlorine electrolysis at the neighboring Covestro plant and transported directly to the LANXESS plant via a pipeline.
LANXESS installed the hydrogen burner at the end of 2025 and has gradually brought it online since then. The system is designed to be powered entirely by hydrogen. Technical integration includes a dedicated hydrogen line, an adapted burner, and measurement control technology, as well as additional safety and control systems.
LANXESS and Covestro have a long-standing partnership at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site. Covestro supplies nitrobenzene, which LANXESS uses to produce its iron oxide pigments. Aniline is produced as a byproduct of this process, which is then returned to Covestro as an important raw material for plastics production. The recently implemented use of hydrogen in the spray dryer adds an additional climate-relevant component to the established production partnership.
With its Inorganic Pigments business unit, LANXESS is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of inorganic pigments. Its portfolio includes iron oxide and chromium oxide pigments for the construction industry, paints and coatings, plastics, and various specialty applications. The products are characterized by high color strength, weather resistance, and consistently high quality. In Krefeld-Uerdingen, LANXESS operates the world’s largest production facility for iron oxide pigments, which have been manufactured at this site for 100 years now.
LANXESS’s iron oxide pigments have a particularly low carbon footprint compared to those of other companies in the industry. A key reason for this is the Laux process used in production. Unlike other processes, it produces virtually no waste and uses energy particularly efficiently.