Partners target precious metals recovery from electrolysers

Asahi Kasei has joined forces with Nobian, Furuya Metal and Mastermelt to recycle precious metals from decommissioned electrolysers. The international partnership is seen as a significant step towards circularity in the chlor-alkali industry.

The project focuses on recovering and reusing catalyst materials from used electrodes. Japanese chemical manufacturer Asahi Kasei will collect these components from salt producer Nobian, based in the Netherlands. It will supply them to the UK-based Mastermelt and Japan’s Furuya Metal, who will remove and purify the metals.

The reclaimed material will be used by Asahi Kasei to manufacture new catalytic coatings, which will return to Nobian’s brine electrolysis process.

Scalable

‘This collaboration lets us capture more value from the metals critical to electrolyser technology while turning sustainability ambitions into scalable outcomes,’ says Yoshifumi Kado, senior general manager at Asahi Kasei.

The partners also see potential in expanding the approach to green hydrogen electrolysis systems, broadening its impact across clean tech applications.