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BASF is way up the battery supply chain
German chemical giant, BASF, and French mining and metallurgy company, Eramet, have announced the development of a state-of-the-art nickel and cobalt hydrometallurgical refining complex.
The details:
The new complex would have two main plants: a High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) plant and a Base Metal Refinery (BMR). The HPAL plant (to be located in Weda Bay, Indonesia) will process locally sourced mining ore into a nickel and cobalt intermediate. Those metal intermediates will then be processed at the BMR into pure nickel and cobalt.
The bigger picture:
The nickel and cobalt produced by the facilities will be used to "produce precursor cathode active materials (PCAM) and then cathode active materials (CAM) for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles". As demand for EVs continues to rise the demand for these batteries (and the chemicals they are made of) will continue to rise. BASF's new PCAM plant in Finland and CAM plant in Germany will eventually supply 400,000 EVs worth of battery materials per year.
Read the press release here.
KBR's ammonia technology to use Monolith's clean hydrogen
US-based EPC company, KBR, has announced that its ammonia process technology was selected by Monolith Materials to convert its clean hydrogen into ammonia.
What's going on here?
We saw Monolith just a couple of weeks ago when it received an investment from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The company is using methane pyrolysis to convert natural gas into hydrogen and carbon black with zero emissions. KBR's technology will take that hydrogen and combine it with the air to make ammonia.
Connecting the last dot:
The carbon black produced will use to produce "many everyday products including tires, belts/hoses, plastics, batteries, and inks". Most of the ammonia produced (about 88%) will end up as fertilizer and the rest will primarily be used as a precursor for pretty much any nitrogen-containing compound.
Read the press release here.
ExxonMobil considering a $240M Baton Rouge investment
According to the governor of Louisiana, US-based integrated petroleum company, ExxonMobil, is reportedly considering a $240 million investment at its Baton Rouge Refinery.
What's the investment?
While still subject to final investment decisions, the potential project will "improve processing capability, increase flexibility for meeting market demand, advance overall site competitiveness, and install technology for a voluntarily 10 percent reduction of volatile organic compound emissions".
Some context:
The refinery in Baton Rouge was built by Standard Oil back in 1909 and has been processing oil ever since. Over the years the site has seen plenty of investment, but most recently in 2019 when it broke ground on a new polypropylene unit.
Read the press release here.