Asahi Kasei Corp. (Tokyo) has started a joint demonstration with Nobian, Furuya Metal, and Mastermelt on the recycling of metals, including precious metals, used in the cells and electrodes incorporated in electrolyzers used for the production of caustic soda. Through this initiative started in February 2025, the partners will work towards building a recycling ecosystem for valuable metals in the chlor-alkali industry.
For nearly five decades, Asahi Kasei has been a leader in the field of chlor-alkali electrolysis for the production of caustic soda and chlorine. The company manufactures and supplies ion-exchange membranes, electrolysis cells, electrodes, and operation expertise for electrolyzer plants. Electrolyzers apply an electric current that is used to split salt water (brine) into chlorine, hydrogen, and caustic soda, which are then used in a broad variety of chemical products. Precious metals such as iridium and ruthenium are used to produce electrodes and other components for electrolysis systems. With increasing global demand for these materials, Asahi Kasei has been advancing initiatives with partners to ensure a stable and secure supply of these metals. One such example is a demonstration project of an electrolysis cell rental service in Europe. Running since 2023 in collaboration with Nobian, a manufacturer of caustic soda and other essential chemicals, this project focuses on the reuse of precious metals.
Asahi Kasei’s joint recycling project with Nobian, as well as with recycling specialists Furuya Metal and Mastermelt, aims to establish a recycling process inside the chlor-alkali industry that refines metals from cells and electrodes that have reached the end of their service life and reuses them as raw materials for the production of new components within the industry. It is expected that this may also be applied to components of Asahi Kasei’s electrolysis system for producing green hydrogen using clean energy. In this project, Asahi Kasei will first collect end-of-life electrodes from Nobian and provide them to Mastermelt and Furuya Metal which will perform the removal of the catalyst from the electrodes, preparation of the material for the next process step, and the extraction and purification of precious metals from the catalyst. In the final step, Asahi Kasei uses the precious metals for a new catalyst, which is then utilized for the coating of electrodes. By using these recycled catalytic electrodes, Nobian will conduct brine electrolysis, thereby enabling resource recycling in the production of caustic soda and chlorine.
“This demonstration represents an important step forward for the chlor-alkali industry and furthers our commitment to advancing circular economy solutions,” said Yoshifumi Kado, Senior General Manager of Ion Exchange Membrane & Electrolysis System Division. “By combining the expertise of Asahi Kasei, Nobian, Furuya Metal, and Mastermelt, we will be able to garner even more value from the important precious metals used in electrolyzer technology while transforming sustainability goals into practical, scalable outcomes.” This announcement follows Asahi Kasei’s launch of the AlkaNexus brand in late 2024, which is designed to be a one-stop solution for the chlor-alkali industry, integrating advanced services in data analysis, plant operations optimization, and membranes.