Heraeus Group's latest investment project in Nanjing officially broke ground, aiming to build the world's most advanced precious metal plant.
Nanjing factory-front view
German-based Heraeus Technology Group's latest investment project in Nanjing officially broke ground, aiming to build the world's most advanced precious metal plant. The new plant will significantly increase Heraeus' precious metal recovery capacity, especially platinum group metal (PGM) capacity. China has a severe shortage of platinum group metal resources and can only rely on imports or recycling. Taking platinum as an example, China's platinum demand in 2015 was 25 times that of China's domestic platinum ore supply. Heraeus will use recovered precious metals to produce emission catalysts, as well as precious metal homogeneous catalysts for pharmaceutical, fine chemical and chemical processes. These catalysts will be widely used in China's automotive, silicon materials and pharmaceutical industries.
As part of its customer-oriented strategy, Heraeus will further strengthen its precious metals management services in China, such as physical supply of precious metals, precious metal account management and global trade, precious metal risk management and financial services. Heraeus is the only foreign company permitted to engage in the lease of industrial precious metals in China.
"Precious metals are a very scarce resource. As one of the world's largest precious metals companies, Heraeus has a unique advantage to provide the most advanced precious metal recycling and processing technology for the Chinese market." Ling Ruide, Chairman of the Heraeus Group Management Committee ( Jan Rinnert said, "Our advanced technology will provide comprehensive support for the implementation of China's new five-year plan, covering all aspects of innovation, green development and society. By 2020, we will have more than 200 skilled people Employees are working in the new plant in Nanjing, "Ling Ruide added.
The new Heraeus plant is located in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park and covers an area of approximately 84,000 square meters. The new factory building and office building are designed to meet or exceed the latest EHS standards, regulations and regulations issued by China, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing City and Nanjing Chemical Industry Park.
In order to reduce energy consumption as much as possible, all buildings will adopt insulation measures that comply with the latest standards and make the most of natural light to save electricity. In addition, in the design of the plant, full consideration has been given to the requirements of sustainability and environmental regulation. Heraeus will use the most advanced technology and strict internal standards to ensure that it meets and exceeds the requirements of China's current environmental regulations. For example, the exhaust gas is purified by a high-efficiency scrubber before being discharged, and the wastewater will also be treated by a special Heraeus patented process and disposed of according to local standards. Heraeus attaches great importance to employee safety and health, and all production areas will be equipped with advanced and efficient air purification systems to ensure fresh indoor air.
Piling construction will begin in the coming weeks, and Heraeus expects the new plant to be completed in early 2018.
China is the world's second largest economy and is committed to pursuing a more sustainable development strategy, which is outlined in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). As one of the five development concepts, "green" attaches importance to the development of a green economy and solves pollution and energy efficiency issues through market mechanisms. It is against this background that Heraeus hopes to be a model for supporting China's sustainable development through the Nanjing Precious Metals Plant under construction.