Heraeus Precious Metals has established a new dedicated Hydrogen Systems business line, headed by Dr Philipp Walter. This provides precious metal-based products for electrolysers and fuel cells, notably electrocatalysts for next-generation applications, plus technologies for precious metal recovery from production scrap and end-of-life materials, such as catalyst-coated membranes.

Heraeus Precious Metals launched a new ruthenium-based catalyst for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis at the P2X conference in Frankfurt in November. Developed with South African firm Sibanye-Stillwater, this is said to combine the high activity of ruthenium-based catalysts with unprecedented stability during hydrogen production.

Germany-based Evonik and Heraeus Precious Metals have announced that they are collaborating to expand their range of services for HPAPIs. They intend to build a fully integrated offering from the pre-clinical stage to commercial manufacturing, with streamlined transfer between small- and large-scale production between their respective sites.

Heraeus’s Pharmaceutical Ingredients business offers customised services for both earlier and later clinical phases and smaller to mid-volume HPAPI commercial products. It claims to be the world’s leading supplier of platinum-based HPAPIs.

Heraeus Precious Metals and Sweden’s Hulteberg have agreed on a strategic partnership to jointly develop and commercialize a variety of catalysts that are required for the operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). These are said to represent a promising technology for the electrochemical conversion of hydrogen and fuels into electricity.

In collaboration with Johannes Kepler University Linz, Heraeus Precious Metals has developed and applied for a patent on an industrial precious metal catalyst for efficient lignin conversion. This is described as “highly suitable for the conversion of lignin to phenolic components on an industrial scale”.

Following a digital pitch day and evaluation by an internal panel, Heraeus has launched its third ‘accelerator programme with five start-ups, who will have access to its research laboratories, test equipment and customer and partner network. The focus is on products for the semiconductor and precious metals industries.

Heraeus Pharmaceutical Ingredients (HPI) has announced that its new production line for platinum-based pharmaceutical ingredients at its headquarters in Hanau, Germany, is now running at full speed and customers have already received the first deliveries of APIs. The company launched the project in late 2018 in response to growing demand for oncology drugs and imminent shortages. HPI, a business line of Heraeus Precious Metals, is world’s largest supplier of platinum-based HPAPIs, which are used in numerous therapies, notably lung, colorectal, ovarian and testicular cancer.