Page 172 - CW E-Magazine (19-12-2023)

News from Abroad

ELECTROLYSIS
Asahi Kasei invests in Canadian maker of anion

exchange membranes

Japan’s Asahi Kasei has made an loping an alkaline water electrolyser ward to working with Asahi Kasei
investment in Ionomr Innovations Inc., for hydrogen production leveraging to decarbonize the planet with green
a Canadian start-up that manufactures its decades of experience in membrane hydrogen,” said Mr. Bill Haberlin,
anion exchange membranes (AEM) process electrolysis and has been parti- CEO, Ionomr Innovations.
that have the potential to be transforma- cipating in several projects globally.
tive for the cost-efficient and scalable ‘Care for Earth’ investment frame-
production of green hydrogen by elec- As part of a NEDO project, the work
trolysis using renewable energy. company supplied a 10MW-scale The collaboration with Ionomr is
alkaline water electrolyser to the Fukushima one of the first projects within Asahi
Founded in 2018, Ionomr speciali- Hydrogen Energy Research Field and Kasei’s ‘Care for Earth’ investment
zes in membranes for use in electro- has been operating it since 2020. The framework, announced in April 2023.
lysers and other applications. Its’ AEM company is accelerating its deve-
allows electrolysis without the need for lopment and demonstration activities The company allocated up to $100-mn
precious metals as catalyst, allowing toward commercialisation in 2025. for investments worldwide in early-
for easy scalability with reduced costs, stage start-ups that aim to solve
while featuring outstanding durability “Ionomr has a membrane solution issues in areas such as hydrogen,
and performance. that works, is a viable contender in the energy storage, carbon management,
mix of electrolyser technologies and and bio-based chemicals over a five-
In 2010, Asahi Kasei began deve- will be cost-effective. We look for- year period.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
Thermo Fisher signs up solar power purchase agreement

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has in bioanalytical testing, collaborated The company has established a
announced a 15-year virtual power in the aggregated deal for a 36-MW commitment to achieve 80% renewa-
purchasing agreement (VPPA) with portion of the project, which is ex- ble electricity globally by 2030. This
international solar developer, ib vogt. pected to be operational in January follows its recently raised commitment
2025. to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by
Thermo Fisher’s 91-MW portion 50% by 2030 against a 2018 baseline,
of the Serbal solar project will deliver Thermo Fisher’s share will match as well as its plans to power all of the
approximately 192,000 megawatt over half of the company’s addressa- company’s US sites with 100% renew-
hours of renewable electricity annually. ble European sites with 100% renew- able electricity by 2026 as it works to
Eurofins Scientific, a global leader able electricity. reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Vopak completes sale of three chemical terminals

in Rotterdam

Vopak has completed the sale of its net debt items at closing is €372-mn. acquisition and divestment supports
three chemical terminals in Rotterdam The combined operational capacity of our strategic goals and positions the
(Botlek, TTR and Chemiehaven) to the three terminals is 1.4-million cubic portfolio towards higher and long-term
Infracapital for a total purchase price metres. The agreement for sale was cash returns. It grows our footprint in
of €407-mn, including a conditional made on September 19, 2023. gas and allows acceleration towards
deferred payment of €19.5 -mn. Total new energies in the future,” Mr.Dick
cash receipt net of transaction costs and “The successful completion of this Richelle, CEO, Vopak, said.

172 Chemical Weekly December 19, 2023

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