BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions launches Verdium product

BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS) has launched Verdium, a new approach to recycled metal based on mass balance.

According to ECMS, recycled platinum group metals (PGMs) are essential to the supply of platinum, palladium and rhodium, are critical minerals used in catalysts and can lower carbon emissions by up to 97 percent in comparison to mined materials. The company claims 1 kilogram of Verdium saves over 30 metric tons of carbon, enabling customers to verify their carbon reduction, track progress to their sustainability goals and help lower their Scope 3 emissions.

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Verdium has been independently validated by UL Solutions, a global safety science company based in Northbrook, Illinois, that acted as a third party to its mass balance chain of custody (CoC) standard UL 2809-1, the Environmental Claim Validation Procedure for Defined Source Content, in accordance with CoC design and models specified in ISO 22095. The validation process includes annual CoC audits and site visits by UL Solutions.

“Independent validation by UL Solutions is a testament to our recycled metal approach that sets the standard in the PGM space,” says Tim Ingle, senior vice president, Precious Metal Services and Recycling at ECMS. “It also brings transparency to the PGM value chain, enabling customers to track carbon reduction with accuracy and confidence.”

ECMS says Verdium will be available to Europe and U.S.-based PGM customers starting in January. Customers will receive the same quality recycled metal from ECMS, it says, but with Verdium, they can verify their carbon reduction. Documented verification will confirm the number of recycled metals purchased and applied to select end products, which can be traced to a concrete carbon metric.

“We have long been a leader in advancing circularity and sustainability through our metals expertise,” ECMS President and CEO Dirk Bremm says. “Recognizing the pressing demand for tangible sustainability progress, we worked in close consultation with our customers to design Verdium as a traceable, audited solution that helps customers make measurable strides toward their goals.”

Josh Warren, vice president and general manager of the Retail and Consumer Product group at UL Solutions, commends ECMS for their carbon reduction efforts. “We hope the UL certification of Verdium will help pave the way for ECMS and its customers to achieve their environmental goals and a more sustainable future for all.”

ECMS adds catalyst smelting capacity in Sweden

Recently, ECMS signed an agreement to purchase the assets of Hofors, Sweden-based Arc Metal AB, a company that currently conducts toll smelting and processing of spent automotive catalyst, among other services.

Arc Metal will further complement ECMS' existing global precious metal recycling operations in Cinderford, U.K., Seneca and Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Caldwell, Texas. ECMS says it expects the transaction to close early in the first quarter of 2024.

"This investment will allow us to grow our recycling business in Europe and bring in best-in-class pyrometallurgical technology providing flexibility to process high carbon-containing materials like silicon carbide found in spent automotive catalyst materials, as well as access to new markets," Ingle says. "We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues who bring vast experience in smelting and processing of spent automotive catalysts."

ECMS says the additional smelting capacity at the Sweden site also will increase utilization of the new refining capacity in Seneca, South Carolina. Recycled catalysts go through a smelting process and then are refined to produce the high purity precious metal needed to make new catalysts and other end use products. ECMS adds recycled PGMs also can lower carbon emissions by up to 97 percent, in comparison to refining mined or primary materials.

"The asset purchase will enable ECMS to meet increased customer demand for spent automotive catalyst recyclign and position ECMS more competitively in the region," Bremm says. "The acquisition also aligns with our sustainability efforts and those of our customers since catalyst recycling as a secondary supply is a significant source of precious metals, preserving our critical resources."