Inco and Süd-Chemie in JV for Development of Diesel Emission Control Materials and Catalysts
30 November 2006
Inco Limited (Inco), a leading nickel and nickel specialties producer based in Toronto, Canada, and Süd-Chemie AG, Munich, Germany (Süd-Chemie), a leading supplier of catalysts for the chemicals and refining industry and for environmental applications, are establishing a joint venture company for the production and marketing of catalyzed diesel emission control materials for the automotive industry.
The two companies will hold equal equity shares in the new company, which will be named Alantum.
Alantum will concentrate initially on diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) applications for European passenger car and light truck markets.
Production will take place in a new facility at Süd Chemie’s Heufeld site in Germany. Commercial scale production is expected to begin in 2008.
The technologies brought into the joint venture by each of the parents are complementary. Süd-Chemie brings in its depth of knowledge in catalysis, while Inco will provide its new alloy foam substrate and extensive metals processing technology.
This new generation of catalyzed substrates for emission control products will compete with traditional catalyzed ceramic substrates currently used in most diesel particulate filter systems for light duty vehicles.
The introduction of increasingly stringent regulations for exhaust emissions in Europe offers an outstanding opportunity for growth, according to the two partners.
Inco is delighted to enter into this partnership with Süd-Chemie, a recognized leader in catalyst products. We view this as an exciting application for our nickel foam technology and an important technology breakthrough in catalyzed diesel emission control, with significant value-creation potential. Our two companies, the automotive industry and the environment will all benefit from this partnership.
—Peter Goudie, Inco Executive Vice-President Marketing
At high temperatures, in catalyst applications, nickel compunds may replace platinum. Nanotech is at its infancy and may improve precious and non-precious metals in many applications. It may be that non-precious metal based nanotech, will kick the likes of platinum upstairs, creating a two tier system. Precious and exotics will dominate the costlier high performance segment, while the affordable segment would be filled by the likes of nickel, and other low cost compounds.
Posted by: allen_Z | 30 November 2006 at 01:21 PM