Marl Chemical Park
A large integrated chemical-production and industrial-services complex in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Marl Chemical Park is an integrated industrial and chemical-production complex in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia, at the northern edge of Germany’s Ruhr area. The site is one of Germany’s largest industrial clusters and is among Europe’s major chemical manufacturing locations. It extends across more than six square kilometres and combines chemical production, utilities, logistics, waste treatment, emergency response and other industrial services within a shared infrastructure system. The park is associated most closely with Evonik Industries, whose subsidiary Infracor GmbH owns and operates much of the site infrastructure, although numerous independent companies also maintain facilities there. The complex originated in the strategic industrial policies of Nazi Germany. In the mid-1930s, the government’s Four Year Plan identified synthetic rubber and other chemical inputs as important to military self-sufficiency. Chemische Werke Hüls GmbH was established by IG Farben and Hibernia AG to construct a large Buna-S synthetic-rubber plant near the Hüls coal mine. The location allowed coal-derived feedstocks, hydrogen and other industrial gases to be exchanged with neighbouring mining, coking and hydrogenation facilities. The works were inaugurated in 1938, and commercial Buna production began in 1940. During the Second World War, the site produced synthetic rubber, chlorine, solvents, resins and other materials required by the German war economy. The wartime history of the site includes extensive use of forced labour and prisoners of war, including workers held in camps around Marl and at facilities connected with the plant. Allied bombing in 1943 caused severe damage and halted production for several months, although output was restored by 1944. In March 1945, plant personnel resisted orders associated with the Nero Decree to destroy industrial facilities, helping preserve the works before the arrival of American forces. After the war, the Allies initially restricted production and considered dismantling parts of the facility. Synthetic-rubber shortages and post-war reconstruction led instead to a gradual restart. In 1953, the works were released from Allied control and reorganized as Chemische Werke Hüls AG. The product portfolio expanded beyond synthetic rubber into plastics, intermediates, detergent raw materials and other chemical products. The site subsequently developed under the influence of VEBA and later Hüls AG. Corporate consolidation involving Hüls, Degussa and SKW Trostberg contributed to the formation of Degussa, which later became part of the industrial group created by RAG AG. Evonik Industries emerged from the combination of RAG’s chemicals, energy and real-estate activities and took over the site’s principal operating role. The complex adopted the name Marl Chemical Park in 2009 as Evonik concentrated on specialty chemicals. The park operates as a Verbund site: production units share feedstocks, utilities, pipelines, transport systems and support services. Its infrastructure includes around 100 production plants, more than 900 buildings, extensive internal roads and railways, approximately 1,200 kilometres of pipelines, power and steam generation, air separation, storage, wastewater treatment and a specialist industrial fire brigade. Materials enter and leave by pipeline, rail, road and water-linked logistics routes. The site is also connected to regional ethene and hydrogen pipeline networks and functions as a major European hydrogen-filling centre. Products made at the park or through its resident companies include basic and intermediate chemicals, polymers, plastics, synthetic rubber-related materials, solvents, glycols, acids, surfactants, resins, polyamides, polyesters, polystyrene, PVC-related products and specialty chemical intermediates. The park’s production is distributed through international industrial supply chains, including automotive, construction, packaging, textiles, coatings, detergents and…
History
Marl Chemical Park developed from the Chemische Werke Hüls complex, which was created during Germany’s pre-war drive for strategic chemical self-sufficiency. In 1936, the Nazi government’s Four Year Plan prioritized synthetic rubber and other materials considered necessary for rearmament. IG Farben and Hibernia AG formed Chemische Werke Hüls GmbH to build a large Buna-S facility near Marl’s Hüls coal mine. The location was linked by industrial infrastructure to coal-processing and hydrogenation plants in the surrounding Ruhr region. Feedstocks and gases could be exchanged between facilities, creating an early integrated chemical-production system. The works were inaugurated on 9 May 1938. Housing construction and the relocation of managers and workers transformed Marl into a company town. By 1942, more than 5,000 employees and their families had moved into housing associated with the plant. During the war, the complex produced Buna-S synthetic rubber, chlorine, solvents, plasticizers, resins and other materials for the German war economy. Its wartime operation relied not only on German employees but also on prisoners of war and forced labourers held in camps in and around Marl. Documentation also records a site prison camp controlled by the Gestapo and connections involving Polish workers and the Buna works at Auschwitz. Allied bombing struck the site heavily in June 1943. One raid caused substantial casualties and damage, while later attacks and disruption to upstream raw-material facilities stopped production for roughly three months. Despite the destruction, output was restored to high levels by 1944. In the final weeks of the war, German military personnel arrived with orders under the Nero Decree to destroy the plant. Plant employees, including director Paul Baumann, opposed the destruction and helped keep the facility intact until American forces occupied it on 31 March 1945. After the war, the site was administered under British and Allied controls. Production was restricted and dismantling was considered, but Europe’s shortage of rubber encouraged efforts to restart the works. Existing processes were increasingly uncompetitive, and American assistance helped restore production and modernize the facility. In 1953, the complex was released from Allied control and reorganized as Chemische Werke Hüls AG. Its activities expanded into plastics, detergent intermediates, synthetic rubber using improved processes and other chemical products. During the post-war economic boom, the site was continuously redeveloped. Under VEBA’s influence, Chemische Werke Hüls moved progressively from basic industrial activities toward more complex chemical products. In 1985, the company began trading as Hüls AG. A sequence of mergers followed: Hüls and Degussa combined in 1999, and the resulting Degussa-Hüls and SKW Trostberg joined in 2001 to form the new Degussa group. RAG AG acquired a controlling interest in the chemical activities in the mid-2000s. RAG’s chemicals, energy and real-estate activities were subsequently combined to create Evonik Industries. Evonik adopted a specialty-chemicals focus and, through Infracor GmbH, became the principal owner and infrastructure operator of the Marl site. In 2009, the complex received the name Marl Chemical Park. The modern park is organized as a shared-services industrial cluster. Evonik and numerous independent companies operate production plants within a common network of energy generation, steam supply, pipelines, transport, storage, wastewater treatment and emergency response. The site contains approximately 100 production plants and more than 900 buildings across more than six square kilometres. Its internal infrastructure includes a long industrial railway, a large road network, around 1,200 kilometres of process and utility pipelines, air-separation facilities, power stations, sewage treatment plants and a specialist fire brigade. The park is connected to wider ethene and hydrogen pipeline systems and has a major role in chemical logistics. The site has experienced several industrial incidents, including releases and fires in the 1990s and a major 2012 fire affecting cyclododecatriene production. The 2012 interruption exposed the dependence of global Nylon 12 supply chains on a small number of producers and affected automotive and other manufacturing industries. Despite this history, Marl remains a major German chemical-production location and is included on the Route of Industrial Culture, where it can be visited as part of the Ruhr region’s industrial-heritage network.
- 2019
Replacement gas-fired power plant enters construction
[1]Construction begins on a planned 180 MW natural-gas facility intended to replace the site’s coal-fired power station.
- 2012
Cyclododecatriene fire disrupts supply
[1]A fire stops cyclododecatriene production for several months and contributes to a global Nylon 12 precursor shortage.
- 2009
The site becomes Marl Chemical Park
[1]Following the creation of Evonik Industries and its specialty-chemicals strategy, the complex adopts its current name.
- 2006
RAG takes control of the chemical activities
[1]Coal-mining conglomerate RAG AG acquires a controlling interest in the site’s chemical business.
- 2001
Degussa group consolidation
[1]Degussa-Hüls and SKW Trostberg merge to create the new Degussa group.
- 1999
Hüls and Degussa merge
[1]Hüls AG and Degussa AG combine to form Degussa-Hüls.
- 1985
The company adopts the Hüls AG name
[1]The operating company begins trading under the name Hüls AG as the business moves toward more complex chemical products.
- 1953
The works are reorganized as a German stock corporation
[1]The site is released from Allied control and becomes Chemische Werke Hüls AG, with an expanded post-war product portfolio.
- 1945
American forces occupy the plant
[1]Employees resist destruction orders under the Nero Decree, and the United States 8th Armored Division occupies the works on 31 March.
- 1943
Allied bombing severely damages the works
[1]Heavy Allied raids in June damage the site, cause extensive casualties and interrupt production for several months.
Products and positioning
A large, integrated German Verbund chemical park that combines production facilities from Evonik and other resident companies with shared energy, utilities, logistics, environmental and emergency-response infrastructure.
Polymers · 1940
Synthetic rubber
Synthetic rubber was the founding product of the Chemische Werke Hüls complex. Buna-S production began during the Second World War as part of Germany’s effort to replace natural rubber. The modern park retains capabilities and businesses connected with rubber, polymers and associated intermediates, although its portfolio is much broader than the original Buna operation.
Industrial chemicals
Basic and intermediate chemicals
Resident companies produce and handle a broad range of chemical building blocks, including ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, styrene, acetylene, methanol, butanol, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide. These materials feed polymer, solvent, coatings, detergent and specialty-chemical operations within and beyond the park.
Specialty polymers
Polyamides and other engineering polymers
The park’s integrated production network includes polyamides, polyesters, copolyamides, copolyesters, polystyrene and related polymer materials. These products serve industrial applications such as automotive components, packaging, construction materials, fibres, coatings and other manufactured goods.
Chemical intermediates
Solvents, glycols and plasticizers
A substantial part of the site’s output consists of solvents and functional intermediates, including ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols, tetrahydrofuran, ethylbenzene, butyl acetates, 2-ethylhexanol and plasticizers. These materials are used in formulations, resins, coatings, plastics, detergents and industrial processing.
Polyamide precursor
Cyclododecatriene
Cyclododecatriene, commonly abbreviated CDT, is an intermediate used in the production of materials associated with Nylon 12. Marl’s production has been important to global supply, and the 2012 plant fire demonstrated how an interruption at the site could affect international automotive and manufacturing supply chains.
Industrial gases
Industrial gases and hydrogen
Shared and resident facilities supply gases such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and argon. The park includes air-separation operations and is described as Europe’s largest hydrogen-filling centre. Gases move through the site’s extensive pipeline network and support chemical reactions, utilities, transport and external industrial customers.
Controversies
1938
Wartime forced labour and prisoner exploitation
During the Second World War, the plant used prisoners of war and forced labourers housed in camps around Marl. Historical accounts also identify a Gestapo-controlled prison camp on the site and links involving Polish workers and the Buna operation at Auschwitz.
Brand decisions
2019
Replacement of coal-fired power generationStrategyBackground
The integrated site required reliable electricity and steam, while its existing energy system included a coal-fired station.
Action taken
Construction began on a planned 180 MW natural-gas power facility intended to replace the coal station.
Aftermath
The project was intended to maintain the park’s shared energy supply while changing the composition of its onsite generation.
2012
Response to the cyclododecatriene production fireOtherBackground
A fire affected production of cyclododecatriene, an important precursor for Nylon 12.
Action taken
Production was halted for several months while the affected operation was dealt with and the site’s emergency and operating systems responded to the incident.
Aftermath
The interruption contributed to international shortages of Nylon 12-related materials and affected downstream sectors, especially automotive manufacturing.
2009
Repositioning as Marl Chemical ParkStrategyBackground
Evonik was formed from RAG’s chemicals, energy and real-estate activities and pursued a more focused specialty-chemicals strategy.
Action taken
The former Chemische Werke Hüls complex was renamed Marl Chemical Park, with Infracor GmbH operating the shared infrastructure.
Aftermath
The site continued as a multi-company integrated chemical park anchored by Evonik and supported by common utilities, logistics and emergency services.
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