South Africa's petrochemicals group Sasol said on Friday it plans to build a purified aluminium production unit at its plant in Germany and that the facility should come on stream by 2012.

Sasol said the facility -- to be constructed at its Olefins & Surfactants (O&S) plant in Brunsbuttel -- would initially have an annual tri-ethyl aluminium (TEAL) output of 6,000 tonnes.

The company did not disclose investment costs.

Sasol O&S is the world's largest producer of TEAL, mainly used as a catalyst in production of polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

The company said the unit will enable it to benefit from its existing position in the production and supply of the chemical.

"Leveraging the existing base product allows Sasol to enter this growing market relatively quickly with quality and availability assured," Andre de Ruyter, Sasol group general manager responsible for the chemical businesses, said in a statement.