Asahi Kasei, Nobian, Furuya Metal and Mastermelt launch joint project to recycle metals from electrolyzer components

This pilot project marks a milestone for the chlor-alkali industry

Japanese technology company Asahi Kasei, together with Nobian, Furuya Metal, and Mastermelt, has launched an initiative to recycle metals and precious metals used in the cells and electrodes of electrolyzers used to produce caustic soda. Launched in February 2025, the partners will work toward establishing a recycling ecosystem for precious metals in the chlor-alkali industry.

The joint recycling project between Asahi Kasei, Nobian, and recycling specialists Furuya Metal and Mastermelt aims to establish a circular economy for the chlor-alkali industry. Metals from cells and electrodes that have reached the end of their service life will be recycled and reused as raw materials for the production of new components in industry. Plans call for this process to also be applied to components of Asahi Kasei's electrolysis system for producing green hydrogen. can be applied with clean energy.

The specific collaboration between the partner companies will involve Asahi Kasei first collecting used electrodes from Nobian and making them available to Mastermelt and Furuya Metal. In a subsequent step, these companies will then remove the catalyst from the electrodes, prepare the material for the next process step, and extract and purify the precious metals from the catalyst. Finally, Asahi Kasei will use the precious metals to create a new catalyst, which will then be used to coat the electrodes. Nobian will use these recycled catalyst electrodes for brine electrolysis, thus enabling resource recycling in the production of caustic soda and chlorine.

"This pilot project marks a milestone for the chlor-alkali industry and demonstrates our commitment to advancing circular economy solutions," said Yoshifumi Kado, Senior General Manager of the Ion Exchange Membrane & Electrolysis System Division at Asahi Kasei.

"The combined expertise of Asahi Kasei, Nobian, Furuya Metal, and Mastermelt enables us to unlock even more value from the precious metals used, while simultaneously translating sustainability goals into practical, scalable results." This announcement ties in with Asahi Kasei's brand launch of AlkaNexus in late 2024, designed as a complete solution for the chlor-alkali industry, including advanced services in data analytics, plant operation optimization, and membranes.