On 11 February 2010, BASF broke ground for its new production plant for sodium methylate in Guaratinguetá, Brazil, its largest site in South America. The plant will have a capacity of 60,000 metric tns/yr and is primarily intended to supply the regional market. It is the second BASF plant for this product, in addition to a plant in Ludwigshafen. The project will involve a capital expenditure in the low double-digit million Euro range. BASF expects about 15% of the annual global demand for biodiesel, which is about 30 million tons, to come from South America in 2015. The plant is expected to be operational from the end of 2011 onwards.
